The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been working diligently to catch up on grant awards after facing delays earlier this year. Thanks to a surge of grantmaking activity in August, the agency is now on track to spend its entire $47 billion budget before the September 30 deadline.
According to a recent analysis by STAT, the NIH has awarded $31.2 billion in new and continuing grants this year, slightly ahead of the average spent by this point in previous years. NIH Principal Deputy Director Matthew Memoli confirmed that the agency has made significant progress in catching up, stating that they are currently running 3% behind where they were at this time last year.
The delays in grant awards were attributed to pauses in grant proposal evaluations, agency-wide layoffs, and additional layers of political review. However, with the recent increase in grantmaking activity, the NIH is now expected to allocate the full amount of taxpayer money appropriated by Congress.
This progress is crucial for researchers and institutions relying on NIH funding to support their important work in areas such as genomic medicine, neuroscience, and reproductive technology. By ensuring that grant awards are distributed in a timely manner, the NIH can continue to drive innovation and advance scientific discovery.
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