NIH Director Offers Assurance Over Concerns on Grant Delays

The National Institutes of Health is pushing back on claims it is behind in dispersing the bulk of its fiscal year 2026 research money to grantees.

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya on Tuesday said reports of delayed grants were untrue and he sought to ease concerns from research advocates and lawmakers.

“Scientists need not worry. We will get the grants out the door,” he said at a hearing of a House Appropriations subcommittee.

Reviews earlier this month of data from NIH RePORTER, an agency database, showed that several NIH centers and institutes, including the National Cancer Institute, lagged behind their ...