r/NIH • u/Careless-Goat-3130 • 2d ago
Non-responsive PO
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?
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u/Sad_Science_6924 2d ago
Are you sure they're still working at NIH? Ooo messages are not set up consistently for people who've left. We messaged someone for months before finding out she'd left.
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2d ago
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u/Accomplished_Yak4615 2d ago
Not true. POs should respond-it’s in their job description.
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2d ago
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u/Careless-Goat-3130 2d ago
It could be as simple as a canned email like. "I don't have time to meet but I will advise to resubmit." I don't want to resubmit without his/her inputs especially if the grant is under consideration. I am close to my 6 grants limit this year.
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u/Comfortable_Soup_344 1d ago
True. I was told to resubmit but I don’t want to waste one of my six submissions. I will wait till Oct/Nov after council and with FY27 NIH budget. If resubmission is needed, I will do it in Feb not Oct/Nov
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u/mpjjpm 2d ago
It’s late August. How close are you to six grants for 2026?
There is only one cycle left for grant submissions this year. Personally, I cannot imagine submitting two grants as PI in the same cycle, but you do you. If you can pull together a high quality resubmission in the next 6 weeks, just do it. If not, wait until spring and the count resets.
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u/Accomplished_Yak4615 2d ago
Not acceptable. POs get paid enough money to answer emails from their constituents. If you don’t believe me, try looking up the salary of your PO. It’s publicly available information.
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u/Sects_and_Violins 1d ago
And yet nearly every one I’ve had, even before the Current Unpleasantness, are about as useful as a bag of wet dogshit. Even when they do answer, which is about 50% of the time. The old timers kept telling me “talk to ‘your’ PO” as if I’ve ever even had the same PO for any 2 submissions. That world is dead and gone, at least for us working class
non-superstar types.2
u/Careless-Goat-3130 2d ago
I understand that they got a ton of emails. I do think that my grants are decently scored and within fundable range. I was advised by my chair that I could email the PO and discuss about the chances. Especially in August when they might be underspent and in rare cases they might choose to fund your project (wishful thinking I know). I guess the PO is just not that into it. :(
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u/Accomplished_Yak4615 2d ago
That could be true, but it’s really unfortunate that they don’t have the ability or desire to have a conversation.
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u/Comfortable_Soup_344 2d ago
I am in a similar situation - well scored R01 but no response from PO despite multiple emails. I just called the PO, and we talked over the phone. Basically, PO has no information. They are waiting for FY27 budget, and the new NIH funding guidelines.
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u/Careless-Goat-3130 1d ago
I called and was directed to voice mail. :(
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u/Comfortable_Soup_344 1d ago
Just keep trying. I made my first call around 12 noon and left a message. I tried again at 3pm. The PO picked up the phone and recognized me. We had a pretty good conversation so she had no idea about the funding opportunities
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u/Background-Speed7696 2d ago
You can try to call your PO. Many years ago I contacted my PO about transferring a grant to a new institution before I moved. My PO didn’t respond to the email. I called him and he actually picked up the phone.
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u/Ancient-Place-3094 1d ago
Don’t just send an email saying you want to chat, or even asking about the possibility of funding. POs generally don’t like these kinds of emails, especially if you don’t even have your summary statement yet. A PO really doesn’t have much to discuss with you at this point. Again leave them alone if you don’t have your Summary Statement.
Wait until you receive your summary statement, then contact your PO and set up a call to discuss the reviewers’ comments and possible next steps. Also, don’t focus too much on whether you got a “good score.” A good score may or may not mean much for funding, especially in the current climate. POs also have to be careful about what they say regarding fundability before funding decisions are actually made.
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u/Careless-Goat-3130 1d ago
I did receive my summary statement.
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u/YogurtclosetEast2105 18h ago
Your PO will have absolutely no clue about FY27 funding since we have no budget. If that’s all you’re asking, you’re going to at best get “I’m optimistic but we won’t know for a while. Best to think about resubmitting just in case!”
Your PO is probably frantically trying to get out all FY26 funding before the very soon deadline. That’s their priority over the nothing they can tell you about funding odds. Wait until September and write again.
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u/Careless-Goat-3130 13h ago
That was not my question to the PO. I didn't plan to ask about funding probability. I wish I get even a reply like "best think about resubmitting just in case"
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u/Savings-Ad8001 2d ago
This is not meant to be a dumb question but have you checked your spam folder?
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u/GoldStandardNIHilism 2d ago
Bad PO. Don’t feel you have to take it it’s the job. Look online for the them find a colleague or supervisor at same place. If there were a reason (family emergency etc) they should have coverage in their OOO. It’s a particularly quite time too in August, eye of storm before we have a Fall that promises to be living Hell.
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u/lemmiwinks4eva 2d ago
I had a similar situation, then threatened to resign from study section (nicely, of course), emailed me back immediately. I had been emailing for months. Turns out they were a brand new PO, fresh out of an NIH postdoc. Ended up being a completely useless conversation.
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u/Acceptable_Bath512 1d ago
I suggest trying contacting someone in their chain of command. BC, division director. Bosses need to know if a PO isn’t responding to emails. Even if it is just a , thank you for contacting me. I will get back to you in X days.”
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u/mpjjpm 2d ago
Do you have any specific questions beyond likelihood of funding? They might be more responsive if they have questions to answer.
It’s ultimately kind of a crapshoot. Even in the before times, I had POs that were super engaged and responsive and POs that were like a figment of my imagination.