NIH Policy Update: New Limits on Applications and Artificial Intelligence Use in Grant Proposals
On July 17, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released NOT-OD-25-132, titled "Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications".
This policy update addresses the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in grant application preparation and introduces new limits on the number of applications NIH will accept per Principal Investigator (PI) annually.
The following changes aim to preserve the integrity of the peer review process, ensure fairness in competition, and maintain high standards of originality in NIH-funded research.
AI Use in Applications:
- NIH emphasizes that while AI tools may assist in limited aspects of application preparation, applications substantially developed by AI will not be considered original and may be deemed non-compliant.
- Use of AI that results in plagiarism, fabricated citations, or other misconduct may lead to serious consequences, including referral to the Office of Research Integrity.
Application Submission Limits:
- Effective September 25, 2025, NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications per calendar year from an individual PI or Multiple PI. This policy applies to all activity codes except T-series training grants and R13 conference grants.
- The limit does not apply retroactively to applications submitted before September 25, 2025. Applications submitted between January 1 and September 24 do not count toward the 2025 total.
- Starting January 1, 2026, the full calendar-year cap will apply without exception.