NIH research funding grant success rates fall in 2025

Fewer investigators applying for National Institutes of Health research grants received them in 2025. The number of researchers winning R01 grants fell from 7,720 in 2024 to 5,885 in fiscal year 2025, according to the agency’s Office of Extramural Research. The funding rate for investigators who earned their graduate degree within the past 10 years fell from 26% in 2024 to 19% in 2025, partially due to more people applying for the grants. Established investigator acceptance rates declined from 27% to 20%. NIH leaders acknowledged in a blog post that an administration policy requiring NIH to fund multiyear grants up front in a single lump sum likely contributed to fewer early-career researchers receiving grants because less money is available for other awards. (Science article, 2/20/26)