House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released a proposed framework to reorganize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and institute new policies across NIH, which was open for public comment. SGO submitted comments outlining how the proposed reforms could impact efforts to improve the lives of those affected by gynecologic cancers and its members who receive NIH grant awards. Our comments called on Chair Rodgers to reauthorize NIH through a bipartisan and bicameral process that includes public hearings and multiple opportunities for comment.
Specifically, SGO provided the following additional feedback:
- The framework proposes to consolidate 27 NIH institutes and centers into 15. While the framework didn’t propose changes to the National Cancer Institute, SGO emphasized that merging institutes could undermine women’s health in the U.S. We also highlighted the longstanding issue of women being understudied in health research, leading to gaps in understanding their health needs.
- To better support innovation within the NIH’s research portfolio, SGO recommended that NIH policies focus on expanding funding mechanisms, like the R35 award, that promote innovative research.
- The E&C committee is interested in implementing term limits for NIH institute and center directors. SGO sees several advantages to imposing term limits; however, instead of imposing a limit of two five-year terms, we suggested that institute and center directors serve renewable five-year terms subject to regular reviews.
- The proposed framework recommended limiting grants and awards only to primary investigators that do not have more than three ongoing concurrent NIH awards. SGO believes this could undermine biomedical research and may unfairly restrict experienced researchers. We urged the committee to consider how engagements are counted and whether roles such as co-investigator or multiple principal investigators are included in the count.
- SGO also encouraged the committee to consider implementing grant mechanisms specifically designed for early-stage investigators to provide them with opportunities to gain experience and test their innovative ideas.
SGO looks forward to working with the E&C committee and other committees of jurisdiction to reauthorize the NIH and strengthen the agency’s capabilities and impact on scientific research and innovation.