National Institute of
Advisory Council Minutes, February 5, 2026
The National Advisory General Medical Sciences (NAGMS) Council convened remotely for its 190th meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 5, 2026.
Erica Brown, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), presided as meeting chair. After an open session from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., the closed session of February 2026 council convened from 12:40 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Council Members Attending Remotely
Natalie G. Ahn, Ph.D.
Eric Alani, Ph.D.
Lesilee Rose, Ph.D.
Christopher W. Seymour, M.D., M.Sc.
Donald K. Warne, M.D., M.P.H.
Council roster (available from NIGMS)
Ex-Officio Member Attending Remotely
Ronald M. Przygodzki, M.D.
Director, Genomic Medicine
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Office of Research and Development
Washington, DC 20420
Ad Hoc Council Participants Attending Remotely
Rick A. Bevins, Ph.D.
Mildred Francis Thompson University Professor
Director, Rural Drug Addiction Research Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 65888-0308
Jani C. Ingram, Ph.D.
Regents' Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Dr. Don Gilbert Endowed Chair in Chemistry
Chair of Chemistry & Biochemistry Department
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
Early Career Investigator Ad Hoc Council Participants Attending Remotely
Glen Liszczak, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Director of the Biochemistry Graduate Program
Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX 75390
Members of the Public Attending Remotely
Not tracked because meeting was available via unrestricted NIH Videocast.
OPEN SESSION OF THE MEETING
I. Call to Order and Opening Remarks
Dr. Brown welcomed Council members and guests. Council members approved the minutes from the September 11, 2025, meeting and the NIGMS Council operating procedures for 2026.
II. Future Meeting Dates
Council confirmed the following dates for future meetings:
May 21, 2026 (virtual)
September 10, 2026 (virtual)
February 4, 2027 (virtual)
III. Review of Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Procedures
Dr. Brown explained policies and procedures regarding confidentiality and avoidance of conflict-of-interest situations to Council members.
IV. NIGMS Director’s Report (NIH Videocast @ 8:05)
Dr. Brown announced NIGMS staff transitions.
Dr. Brown gave an update on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Appropriations Bill: NIH received a 1% increase over FY25; NIGMS received a 0.8% increase, most of which is dedicated to the congressionally-mandated Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program.
Dr. Brown also highlighted a new NIGMS program:
Dr. Brown highlighted NIH-wide policy updates and priorities including:
- Implementing the Unified NIH Funding Strategy to guide consistent funding decisions across ICs and Offices to strengthen accountability for research at NIH, and how NIGMS' longstanding funding strategy aligns with the core tenets.
- NIH's transition to Grants.gov as the single official source for NIH funding. Applicants can also use NIH Explore Grant Opportunities to find opportunities. NIH has introduced highlighted topics to signal areas of scientific interest across ICOs and is reducing the number of highly specific funding opportunities by increasing reliance on parent announcements and the highlighted topics. All NIH grants and funding information are now consolidated on a single page.
- NIH has implemented temporary emergency modifications to the NIH peer review process due to the lapse of appropriations in 2025.
- NIH has implemented common forms for the Biographical Sketch and Other Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026 (NOT-OD-26-018).
- NIH has established a new application and award structure for international collaborations providing clearer mechanisms to support and oversee foreign components (NOT-OD-25-104 and NOT-OD-25-155).
- NIH is prioritizing the development and use of human-based research technologies.
- NIH has issued updated guidance to support fairness and originality in research applications (NOT-OD-25-132).Only 6 competing applications from a PI (individual or multiple PI) per calendar year will be accepted.
- There has been a lapse in legislative authority for NIH small business programs and NIH has issued guidance outlining the implications (NOT-OD-26-006).
- NIH now requires all prior approval requests be submitted through the eRA Prior Approval Module standardizing the prior approval process across NIH (NOT-OD-23-026).
V. DISCUSSION (NIH Videocast @ 34:00)
Council members discussed the implemented temporary emergency modifications to the NIH peer review process due to the lapse of appropriations in 2025 and flexibility in MIRA resubmissions due to delayed study sections.
VI. Outcomes from the NIGMS Strategic Plan 2021-2025 NIH Videocast @ 37:00)
David Bochner, Ph.D.
Dr. Bochner discussed the NIGMS Strategic Plan Outcomes Report history and context, the framework and implementation, and general highlights from the outcomes report including:
- Expansion of the Maximizing Investigators Research Award (MIRA) Program
- Continued NIGMS Support for Early Stage Investigators (ESIs)
- Improving Research Training
- Building Clinical Portfolio Through Collaboration
- Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) to Ensure Clinical Research is Likely to be Funded Appropriately
- Enhancing Clinical Research in IDeA States and Tribal Entities
- Lesson Learned from Analysis of Patents
- Fostering a Culture of Program Evaluation
- Improving Data for Tracking Program Outcomes
Through strategic planning, progress monitoring and outcomes reporting, NIGMS demonstrates responsible stewardship of public funds, promotes transparency and ensures accountability for advancing biomedical research and training. NIGMS plans to publish a longer narrative Strategic Plan Outcomes Report in 2026 and begin drafting the next strategic plan, incorporating outcomes and lessons learned from the previous plan.
Council members discussed the advantage of biennial meetings for improving research training and the complexity of programmatic evaluations.
VII. Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions (RLI-S10) Progress Report NIH Videocast @ 1:14:20)
Dorothy Beckett, Ph.D.
Dr. Beckett discussed key points of the NIH-wide Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions (RLI-S10) including the purpose, eligibility requirements, types of supported instruments and users. Major differences between various NIH S10 programs were outlined, including budget ranges. A progress report was presented including number of applications and awards, geographical distribution of applications and awards, outreach efforts, and impact of outreach efforts.
Council members discussed challenges that RLI-S10 applicants face.
VIII. Updates to NIGMS' Training Programs NIH Videocast @ 1:36:00)
Kenneth Gibbs, Ph.D.
Dr. Gibbs provided an update on NIGMS' current and planned training programs and future directions for institutional training programs. NIGMS' training goal, strategy, approaches, and adaptation to NIH-wide changes including reducing administrative burden and complexity were covered.
Dr. Gibbs outlined the specific ways NIGMS is reducing administrative burden: through utilization of institutional Parent NOFOs, new Parent NOFOs under development and highlighted topics. Current and planned NIGMS Training and Workforce Development activities across the education continuum were shown in an infographic.
Dr. Gibbs discussed potential future directions for NIGMS training programs while aligning with NIH's efforts to reduce administration burden and complexity, including opportunities to streamline the current postdoctoral basic biomedical portfolio training areas to provide more flexibility for basic biomedical portfolios through broader program areas.
Council members discussed feedback and potential outcomes for broader program areas, funding support for students in the early years, fellowship support, and how metrics to assess T32 outcomes might change.
IX. Concept Clearance: Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) NIH Videocast @ 2:22:00)
Erica Brown, Ph.D.
The Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) program supports federally-recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal colleges or universities, Tribal health programs, or Tribal organizations to support health-related research, research career enhancement, and research infrastructure enhancement activities.
NIGMS received Council approval for the concept.
X. Concept Clearance: Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) NIH Videocast @ 2:25:18)
Erica Brown, Ph.D.
The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) supports the development of a pool of well-trained clinician-scientist leaders by supporting evidence-informed dual-degree training and mentoring that leads to completion of a clinical degree (e.g., M.D., D.O., D.V.M., D.D.S., Pharm.D.) and a Ph.D.
MSTP will continue to integrate "Advancing Health and Development" (MSTP-AHeAD) track into the NOFO to broaden the organizational and geographic distribution of MSTP awards and strengthen clinician-scientist research training capacity nationwide, particularly in IDeA states, HBCUs, and TCUs.
NIGMS received Council approval for the concept.
XI. Public Comment (Not Recorded)
Dr. Yvette Seger, Chief Science Policy and Workforce Development Officer at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), on behalf of Dr. Eric. E. Kelly, FASEB President, expressed appreciation for the presentations and resulting discussion during the February 5, 2026 public session. Dr. Kelly noted that research supported by NIGMS continues to yield foundational discoveries critical to human disease and improving human health and NIGMS’ investments in research infrastructure and workforce development ensure scientists produce rigorous, high-quality research with the potential for clinical applications.
CLOSED SESSION OF THE MEETING
This portion of the meeting was closed to the public in accordance with the determination that it was concerned with matters exempt from mandatory disclosure under sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., and section 1009(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1014).
Members exited the meeting during the discussion and voting process on applications from their own institutions or other applications that presented a potential conflict of interest, real or apparent. Members signed a statement to this effect at the beginning of the meeting.
REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS
NIGMS considered 1,897 research and training applications requesting $836,753,097 in total costs. The Council recommended 1,897 applications with a total cost of $836,753,097.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 12:50 p.m. on February 5, 2026.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that, to my knowledge, the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.
Erica Brown, Ph.D.
Chair
National Advisory General
Medical Sciences Council
Ariel Zane, Ph.D.
Executive Secretary
National Advisory General
Medical Sciences Council