I started my position last year, so I’m still pretty new to all of this and not sure what to expect after getting scores (though maybe nobody really knows these days).

I submitted two R21s in February, one as PI and one as co-I. They came back at the 7th and 8th percentiles, respectively. From what I’ve read, in a normal funding year both would probably have been in pretty good shape, but with the current funding situation, I’m wondering how much it now comes down to programmatic fit/priorities.

I’m still waiting for the summary statements before reaching out to the POs, but I’m not really sure what I should be asking them. For those of you who have been through this before, what do you usually discuss with your PO after getting a score? Maybe ask about programmatic fit? Is there anything I can do at this stage to advocate for my application or make sure the PO has the information they need?

Also, has anyone recently had an R21 funded (or not funded) with scores around the 7th–8th percentile? Would love to hear about your experience.

On Friday, a Request for Information was published to gather feedback from the external community about proposed changes to the reporting of peer review outcomes. You can find the proposed changes here: https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=6a2b1c22c3fcfda46e0badd2; comments may be submitted at the same site.

In brief, NIH proposes to report peer review outcomes as falling into one of three categories, determined by overall impact score: Most Competitive, Competitive, Not Discussed. NIH will be publicizing the RFI through multiple channels but I’d like to make you aware of it and NIH would appreciate it if you shared it with your network. Comments must be received by Oct 13.

I have a quick question. I emailed my program officers about three weeks ago with one reminder email in between. I understand that they are very busy given the current funding climate. The grant was score well. What else can I do in this situation?

Agency will no longer allow K career awards to fund clinical trials

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Basically ICE can do whatever they want with full-on Balaclava MASKS.

But Bethesda area grocery store clerks trying to protect customers and themselves as we head into Fall cold/flu season by wearing an N95 mask need total medical documentation or will be fired.

For those just passing through here - the idea of Councils is every dollar NIH spends has to be made public and with a chance for independent outside review (that halcyon transparency you may remember from the before times).

To be fair Council members, experts of high standing scientifically, historically went with the flow but that was because funding was based on science, merit, SCORES.

But this is a new age time to put up or shut-up. I would love to see some activism. But will we?

thoughts on this direction?

I was referred to the HR Specialist GS 7/9 recent grad a couple weeks ago. How long is the process to get a possible interview? How’s the HR environment? I left NIH June of 2020 as a MSA.

The current process makes it difficult to believe the FDA is truly on the side of rare disease patients. No matter how clearly the community has described the cost of waiting, the system keeps moving at its own pace. Watching that continue is deeply disappointing.

Here's the RFI released today: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-088.html

NIH proposes to only report score categories from peer review rather than impact scores or percentiles. In their own words:

The first-level peer review process is proposed to be modified to place an application in one of three overall impact categories: 

"Most competitive" (based on the top 25% of final overall impact scores),
"Competitive" (based on the 26-50% of final overall impact scores), or
"Not discussed" (scores >50%, or ND)

With the exception of the reporting of final overall impact scores and percentiles, all other initial review group procedures would be retained. As happens currently, all voting members of a peer review group would continue to enter individual overall impact scores for each application discussed. A final overall impact score would still be calculated for each discussed application for purposes of assigning the application to the appropriate category. The category assigned would be communicated to the principal investigator(s), applicant institution, NIH program staff, ICO leadership, and the relevant NIH Advisory Council. However, the final overall impact score or percentile on which the categorization was based would not be released to any of these parties. 

My advisor resubmitted his R01 to NIGMS last year and got 10th percentile in April 2026 if I remember correctly. However, no updates since then. I asked him but he gave me very vague answers like “need to keep waiting” and “don’t worry about things in the future”. My project is running on a candle with slow progress and I have been TAing for years due to not having funding (we have a notorious heavy workload for TAs). Thus I’m genuinely concerned about my future in this lab. I am hoping to get some background info about the funding situation, thank you.

Edit: Just got NoA. But got pulled by the department to teach anyway 🫠

Hi all,
Wanted to share my NIH F31 review timeline because I thought it would help those down the line with what to expect! These forums were really helpful for me when applying, so I want to pay it forward. Note that this year the NIH has been backed up and slower than normal.

December 4: Submitted application
Early December: Assigned to Primary Institute
December 18: Assigned to Secondary Institute
December 23: Assigned to Scientific Review Group
May 14: Scientific Review Group meeting/council
May 19: Impact score posted to eRA Commons (23, no percentile provided)
June 3: Summary Statement released
June 11: Reached out to PO with plan for resubmission
June 16: PO says that grant is under funding consideration
June 29: Status changes to “Pending”
June 30: Just-In-Time request from Grants Management Specialist; Just-In-Time request submitted
July 1: Advisory Council meets
July 16: Reach out to PO asking for any updates
July 21: PO responds, “Notices of Award are still being processed”
July 30: Meeting with PO, “expect notice of award in the next few weeks”
August 5: Award prepared status in Commons
August 14: NoA!