Bhattacharya provides calm answers to anxious questions at confirmation hearing Trump nominee for NIH director calls for transparency, audits of indirect costs

Spending bill passed by the House gives NIH $415M raise, NCI gets $128M
Legislation caps proportion of NIH grants to receive multiyear funding; indirect costs remain untouched

The U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 22 passed a three-bill minibus package that is expected to be the grand finale of the drama of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process. The package, which funds the HHS as well as the departments of Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Education, gives NIH and NCI modest raises over FY25, and nullifies several aggressive cuts the White House had proposed for NIH.

NIH ends fetal tissue research—again

NIH will no longer fund scientific research that uses human fetal tissue from elective abortions, a practice that has contributed to the study of cancer, the development of vaccines, and the treatment of other diseases.

Could mRNA vaccines hold the key to building an affordable universal cancer vaccine?

“I believe in the concept of a universal cancer vaccine,” said Elias Sayour, a pediatric oncologist at the University of Florida. “I think if this fails in a prospective phase III trial, I still believe we can engineer a vaccine that works prospectively.”

January 14, 2026

Vol.52 No.1

Clinical

A planned randomized trial will ask an intriguing question: Do COVID vaccines potentiate checkpoint inhibitors?

A phase III clinical trial will soon begin testing the evidence collected thus far that points to a stunning prospect: the COVID-19 vaccine—a widely accessible mRNA vaccine already on the market—could make checkpoint inhibitors work better for lung cancer and melanoma patients.

January 09, 2026

Vol.52 No.1

By Sara Willa Ernst and Jacquelyn Cobb

Cancer Policy

NIH agrees to review hundreds of denied or shelved grant applications

Last year, the Trump administration began dismantling, RIFing, and stamping out programs and staff deemed ideological or politically motivated, halting application processes, and stripping funding opportunities.

January 09, 2026

Vol.52 No.1

By Claire Marie Porter

Cancer Policy

CDC scales back childhood vaccine schedule

On Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a scaled-back childhood vaccine schedule that slashed the number of diseases that the institution recommends all children get immunized against—from 17 to 11.

January 09, 2026

Vol.52 No.1

By Jacquelyn Cobb

Bhattacharya provides calm answers to anxious questions at confirmation hearing

Trump nominee for NIH director calls for transparency, audits of indirect costs

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Spending bill passed by the House gives NIH $415M raise, NCI gets $128M
Legislation caps proportion of NIH grants to receive multiyear funding; indirect costs remain untouched

NIH ends fetal tissue research—again

Could mRNA vaccines hold the key to building an affordable universal cancer vaccine?

A planned randomized trial will ask an intriguing question: Do COVID vaccines potentiate checkpoint inhibitors?

NIH agrees to review hundreds of denied or shelved grant applications

CDC scales back childhood vaccine schedule

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Bhattacharya provides calm answers to anxious questions at confirmation hearing

Trump nominee for NIH director calls for transparency, audits of indirect costs

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Spending bill passed by the House gives NIH $415M raise, NCI gets $128MLegislation caps proportion of NIH grants to receive multiyear funding; indirect costs remain untouched

NIH ends fetal tissue research—again

Could mRNA vaccines hold the key to building an affordable universal cancer vaccine?

A planned randomized trial will ask an intriguing question: Do COVID vaccines potentiate checkpoint inhibitors?

NIH agrees to review hundreds of denied or shelved grant applications

CDC scales back childhood vaccine schedule

Never miss an issue!

Login

Spending bill passed by the House gives NIH $415M raise, NCI gets $128M
Legislation caps proportion of NIH grants to receive multiyear funding; indirect costs remain untouched