NIH Nixes Ethics Review of Human Research Grant Proposals

Thousands of researchers hoping to dip into the NIH’s pot of grant funding can save time getting their applications together under a new agency policy.

The National Institutes of Health is dropping a requirement that scientists seeking grant funding for human subjects research have their applications certified by ethics panels known as institutional review boards (IRBs). This change lines up with revisions to human research oversight regulations known as the Common Rule, and it means researchers could save time in the application process.

The NIH announcement is noteworthy because the agency is by far the largest component of the ...