Tough Questions Asked in NIH Council of Councils

By: Galen Cobb
Thursday, June 12, 2025
On May 29, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils, an advisory group to the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) within the Office of Director, held their second quarterly meeting for the year. Acting DPCPSI Director Nicole Kleinstreuer, PhD, presented updates to the council on current NIH policies, including the centralization of peer review in the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), the new initiative to prioritize human-centered research methodologies, and the NIH Strategic Plan for data science.

Council members expressed an array of concerns and questions regarding grant terminations, elimination of funding opportunities, and the proposed NIH restructuring during the two Q&A periods: one after Kleinstreuer’s presentation and one prior to the conclusion of the meeting. Kleinstreuer confirmed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was responsible for driving the NIH stop-work orders and grant terminations, as previously reported in Nature, but she expressed doubt when asked if NIH could provide a list of the search terms being used to flag projects for termination. She reassured the council that NIH leadership is actively working to restore funding disbursement and unblock channels affecting funding opportunities, including establishing by September 30 a new award structure that will include foreign collaborations. Fewer insights were provided on the status of a potential restructuring of NIH, which would require actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leadership, NIH’s Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB), and Congress.

Meeting materials and the link to the archived videocast are available here.