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Exclusive: NIH grant rejections have more than doubled amid Trump chaos

At least 2,500 applications for research funding have been denied so far this year.
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  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has drastically increased the number of grant applications it has rejected without funding, adding to a long list of setbacks for medical research that have occurred under the administration of US President Donald Trump.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01539-5

Additional reporting by Rachel Fieldhouse.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 21 May 2025: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the purpose of a letter for applicants to the New and “At-Risk” Investigators R01 funding category.

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