The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a policy to fund research grants in a lump sum payment at the beginning of the grant period, rather than issuing portions of the award on an annual basis, through a mechanism referred to as multi-year funding.
The Endocrine Society is deeply concerned about the impact that multi-year funding awards will have on endocrine research and researchers. While this funding mechanism may provide some researchers with financial flexibility for their projects, issuing multiple years of funding up front will significantly reduce the overall number of grants that can be issued in the next fiscal year and drastically cut paylines. This will affect operations for many Principal Investigators and will disrupt the recruitment and retainment of early career researchers seeking to establish their own independent research laboratories.
In the Senate Appropriations Committee’s funding bill for NIH that advanced last week, the committee adopted an amendment introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to protect NIH grants in response to the administration’s multi-year funding policy. The amendment would maintain the established proportion of multiyear grants in FY 2026 the same as FY 2024.
While the Senate bill protects the NIH budget through the adoption of this amendment and rejection of the President’s proposed 40% budget cut for NIH, the House of Representatives still needs to act, and the future of NIH funding remains uncertain. The Society will continue to advocate against the new policy of multi-year funding and to support the Senate Appropriations Committee’s language.
It remains critical for all researchers to remind your Senators and Representatives about the importance of your research and the need to protect NIH funding. We urge you to take action through our campaign to make your voice heard.
As the latest session of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 5.2) to develop a legally-binding treaty to address plastic pollution begins in Geneva, Switzerland, members of the Endocrine Society continue to educate delegates about the need to include health-protection provisions in the treaty.
This session’s goal is to complete negotiations on the treaty and agree on the main aspects of the text, as the treaty process has already extended beyond the time prescribed in the original mandate from the United Nations Environment Assembly. The Endocrine Society has been engaged throughout the INC process, and we have successfully advocated for the inclusion of health-protection provisions in the treaty, from a standalone article on health to specific text in other articles aimed at helping countries reduce exposure to hazardous endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in plastic and engaging in biomonitoring programs to assess progress against health goals. Many countries have supported these objectives, and we are encouraged that many of our key provisions remain in the current working text. During the negotiations this week, Endocrine Society member Leo Trasande, MD, MPP met with representatives from the World Health Organization and key players in the treaty process in Geneva to discuss our objectives and the need to reduce exposure to harmful EDCs in plastic.
While we are hopeful that delegates can resolve any remaining obstacles over the next week, significant disagreements remain over key issues in the treaty such as production limits on new plastic and identifying problematic chemicals. INC 5.2 is scheduled to end on August 15, and we will share more about the prospects for the treaty after.
The Society continues advocacy efforts related to our policy priorities. Below is a list of links to recent policy communications:
We rely on your voice to advocate for our policy priorities. Join us to show our strength as a community that cares about endocrinology. Contact your US representatives or European Members of Parliament through our online platform. Take action and make a difference today.
