BETHESDA — The NIH is decreasing the role peer-review scores play in deciding grant awards. The agency also plans to hide cumulative peer-review scores from applicants and many employees. An NIH spokesperson said that peer review would continue to be the cornerstone of the NIH's funding decisions but that funding would become less dependent on reviewers' rankings of grant proposals.

Bhattacharya defended the adjustments in a podcast interview. He stated that press criticisms that "we made the NIH political" are "missing the big picture, which is that over the last decade and a half, the NIH had entered politics in an explicit, partisan way." "What came before was politicization, and what we’re doing now is depoliticization," he added.

The NIH is moving some employees into at-will Schedule Policy/Career positions. According to an NIH spokesperson, Bhattacharya has set up a process for researchers to renegotiate grants to take out the components of DEI in it, but maintain the science that actually has a chance of improving human health. NIH data indicates that early-career researchers have been harmed by current grant processes.

More than 1,200 NIH grants remain disrupted, according to Grant Witness. Grant Witness is a group that tracks federal agency grant cuts. Scott Delaney is the co-founder of Grant Witness.

The Senate confirmed Bhattacharya as NIH director approximately 18 months prior to August 31, 2026. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads the Health and Human Services Department. Bhattacharya has served as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since February 2026.

Jennifer Troyer is the global genomics director at Genetic Alliance. She is a former extramural operations division director for the NIH. Troyer is a senior adviser to 27 UNIHTED. 27 UNIHTED is an advocacy group comprised of current and former NIH employees.

Why It Matters

The structural changes at the NIH represent a shift in how the agency evaluates scientific merit and manages its workforce. By reducing the reliance on peer-review rankings and introducing at-will employment statuses, the leadership aims to alter the institutional culture. The disruption of more than 1,200 grants shows the immediate impact of these policy shifts on ongoing research.

The debate centers on whether these actions constitute depoliticization or introduce new forms of political influence. Supporters argue that previous processes were explicitly partisan, while critics contend that the changes harm early-career researchers and disrupt established scientific protocols. The issuance of the Bethesda Declaration demonstrates organized opposition within the agency and the broader scientific community.

Timeline

In October 2020, Jay Bhattacharya was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration. The Great Barrington Declaration called for lifting most pandemic restrictions in October 2020. On April 1, 2025, President Trump appointed Jay Bhattacharya to lead the NIH starting in April 2025. The NIH Director — Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, M.D. Ph.D. took the helm as 18th director of the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s medical research agency, on April 1, 2025.

The Bethesda Declaration is a public letter issued in June 2025. Jenna Norton is an author of the Bethesda Declaration. The Bethesda Declaration denounced grant terminations and other moves made by the NIH. Jay Bhattacharya has served as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since February 2026.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that the NIH Director, Jay Bhattacharya, has set up a process for researchers to renegotiate grants to take out the components of DEI in it, but maintain the science that actually has a chance of improving human health. The NIH spokesperson said that peer review would continue to be the cornerstone of the NIH's funding decisions but that funding would become less dependent on reviewers' rankings of grant proposals.