Updates on Federally Sponsored Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced an accelerated timeline for its 2024 Public Access Policy. The policy will now apply to all peer-reviewed articles accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025.

Given the significance of these changes, it is essential that all NIH-funded researchers understand the new requirements and adjust their research and publication plans accordingly. Failure to comply could jeopardize current and future NIH funding.

UNC University Libraries has published a web page that provides up-to-date information about the policy. This guide includes key policy information, PubMed Central submission guidance, and other materials to facilitate policy compliance. There is also a published list of journals that automatically deposit articles into PubMed Central.

For additional assistance, you may request a consultation with Jamie Ede, jsede@email.unc.edu, the cancer center’s librarian, or Barrie Hayes, bhayes@email.unc.edu, bioinformatics and research data librarian at UNC Health Sciences Library.

For information on the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, Data Management and Sharing Plans, or genomic data sharing through dbGaP, GEO, or EGA, contact the UNC Lineberger Office of Genomics Research.

The UNC Research Data Management Core (RDMC) offers a range of services for non-genomic data sharing. Details are available on the RDMC website.

NIH has recently observed instances of Principal Investigators submitting large numbers of applications, some of which may have been generated with AI tools. While AI may be a helpful tool in reducing the burden of preparing applications, the rapid submission of large numbers of research applications from a single Principal Investigator may unfairly strain NIH’s application review processes.

The percentage of applications from Principal Investigators submitting an average of more than six applications per year is relatively low; however, there is evidence that the use of AI tools has enabled Principal Investigators to submit more than 40 distinct applications in a single application submission round.

NIH will continue to employ the latest technology in detection of AI-generated content to identify AI generated applications, but it is imperative that all NIH research applications are consistent with the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) Section 2.1.2’s expectation that institutions and affiliated research teams propose original ideas for funding.

What does this mean for you?

• NIH will not consider applications that are either substantially developed by AI, or contain sections substantially developed by AI, to be original ideas of applicants. If the detection of AI is identified post award, NIH may refer the matter to the Office of Research Integrity to determine whether there is research misconduct while simultaneously taking enforcement actions including but not limited to disallowing costs, withholding future awards, wholly or in part suspending the grant, and possible termination.
• NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications from an individual Principal Investigator/Program Director or Multiple Principal Investigator for all council rounds in a calendar year. This policy applies to all activity codes except T activity codes and R13 Conference Grant Applications.

Effective Date: This policy is effective for applications submitted to the September 25, 2025, receipt date and beyond.

View Notice

NIH will now only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications from an individual Principal Investigator/Program Director or Multiple Principal Investigator for all council rounds in a calendar year.

Read more about the policy

NIH has announced a postponement of the previously scheduled May 25 implementation date for the required use of the new Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support.

According to NIH’s most recent update, the implementation is postponed until further notice to support a smoother transition. NIH will issue future Guide Notices with a new effective date and additional implementation details once they are finalized.

View Full Announcement

What does this mean for you?

Until further notice, NIH directs all applicants and recipients to continue using the current NIH Biosketch and Other Support format pages for:

• All grant applications
• Just-in-Time (JIT) submissions
• Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs)

ORCID ID requirement is also postponed—but action still encouraged

While NIH has also postponed the planned requirement for all Senior/Key Personnel to link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons Personal Profile, NIH and UNC strongly encourage faculty and key personnel to take the following steps now in preparation for these changes:

• Create an ORCID iD via ORCID.org or via the UNC-Chapel Hill ORCID Portal  (if not already completed)
• Link their ORCID iD to UNC via the UNC-Chapel Hill ORCID Portal
• Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons account
• Connect their ORCID iD to SciENcv

Taking these steps now will ensure you are prepared once NIH finalizes its new requirements and will help streamline future submissions.

If you have questions, the UNC Lineberger contact for NIH grant support is Cindy Hoffmeier, cindy_hoffmeier@unc.edu.