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The Next NIH Strategic Plan Should Prioritize Nonanimal Human-Centered Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils, an advisory council to the NIH director, convened in September to discuss updates and new programs to be implemented across the health research agency. In advance of the meeting, the Physicians Committee submitted a comment encouraging the NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which the Council advises, to set a formal agency-wide priority to advance the development and use of nonanimal, human-centered research.
The NIH is mandated by Congress to develop and regularly update a Strategic Plan to provide direction to biomedical research, facilitate agency-wide collaboration, leverage scientific opportunity, and advance biomedicine. As the planning process for the next NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026-2030 will soon be underway, the Physicians Committee urged the NIH to prioritize human-centered research and implement comprehensive stakeholder engagement.
The NIH has made important progress to advance human-centered nonanimal research, including the acceptance of recommendations made by the Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Catalyzing the Development and Use of Novel Alternative Methods to Advance Biomedical Research and the new Complement Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) Common Fund program earlier this year. To continue building on this progress and leverage this scientific opportunity, the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for 2026-2030 should:
- Include experts in human subjects research and other nonanimal methods in the Strategic Plan Working Group
- Engage in open and comprehensive strategic planning with stakeholder input, including virtual roundtable discussions, a request for information on a draft strategic plan framework, and a request for feedback on the full draft of the strategic plan
The Physicians Committee will continue to monitor the development of the next NIH-Wide Strategic Plan and ensure human-centered research is prioritized.
