{"id":7366,"date":"2026-01-09T08:02:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/?p=7366"},"modified":"2026-01-09T08:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T13:03:18","slug":"important-nih-policy-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/2026\/01\/09\/important-nih-policy-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Significant NIH Policy Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"
The NIH is making many changes in how it will solicit and award funding. \u00a0One major change is it will markedly reduce the number of topic-specific RFAs (and even Program Announcements) across the board. \u00a0Instead, they want applications to come in under standard Parent R01, R21 or similar funding mechanisms.<\/div>\n
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However, \u00a0they have developed a list of \u201cHighlighted Topics\u201d that they encourage applications on. \u00a0It\u2019s less useful than the detailed RFA or PA program previously. On the other hand, since percentiles and pay lines will no longer be used, and more of the funding decisions will be driven by administrative and programmatic interests, it’s possible that these \u201chighlighted topics\u201d will be prioritized in final funding decisions. \u00a0We want to make you aware of this change.<\/div>\n
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We also want to point out that two of the 20 currently-posted highlighted topics are HIV<\/b>. \u00a0One in particular to note is Implementation Science to Optimize HIV Prevention and Treatment – which we know is going to be a major funding initiative – so we definitely encourage responses to this topic. \u00a0Links are below.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
What Are the Differences Between Highlighted Topics and Funding Opportunities?<\/b><\/div>\n
https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/news-events\/nih-extramural-nexus-news\/2025\/12\/what-are-the-differences-between-highlighted-topics-and-funding-opportunities<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
Implementation Science to Optimize HIV Prevention and Treatment\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/funding\/find-a-fit-for-your-research\/highlighted-topics\/20<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
Advancing Prevention and Treatment of Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections in HIV-Affected Populations<\/b><\/div>\n
https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/funding\/find-a-fit-for-your-research\/highlighted-topics\/3<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
Full List of Highlighted Topics<\/b><\/div>\n
https:\/\/grants.nih.gov\/funding\/find-a-fit-for-your-research\/highlighted-topics<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NIH is making many changes in how it will solicit and award funding. \u00a0One major change is it will markedly reduce the number of topic-specific RFAs (and even Program Announcements) across the board. \u00a0Instead, they want applications to come in under standard Parent R01, R21 or similar funding mechanisms. However, \u00a0they have developed a … Continue reading Significant NIH Policy Changes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":7365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7368,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7366\/revisions\/7368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.upenn.edu\/cfar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}