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The Physicians Committee Applauds NIH Efforts to Support Human-Based Research
In a public comment to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Physicians Committee experts expressed support for two recent actions the agency has taken toward implementing the human-based initiative launched in 2025 and made recommendations for building on this exciting progress.
In January, an NIH advisory group called the Council of Councils met to discuss activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). DPCPSI oversees a variety of agency-wide efforts, such as the National Primate Research Centers, the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, and the Complement-ARIE program, which promotes the development and use of nonanimal methods.
Among the topics discussed was the proposed reorganization of DPCPSI to establish the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA), which would serve as a centralized hub within the NIH to coordinate the development, validation, and use of nonanimal approaches across the entire agency. In a public comment about the meeting, Physicians Committee experts expressed support for ORIVA, noting that it will be crucial for ensuring that innovative human-based methods reach their full potential across disease areas and applications. It will also serve a critical role coordinating with the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency as all three agencies continue to move away from animal experimentation.
The comment also expressed support for certain aspects of the recently published Office of Research Infrastructure (ORIP) Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026-2030. Within DPCPSI, this office advances NIH’s mission through infrastructure and innovation. The strategic plan sets out a path to increase support for resources that enable broader development and use of human-based research methods. To ensure productive implementation of the plan, the Physicians Committee made specific recommendations about new and existing funding opportunities.
For instance, existing funding opportunities that provide grants to the National Primate Research Centers should be updated to promote the use of human-based, nonanimal methods in place of nonhuman primates. These sorts of changes would go a long way to help shift reliance from primate use, like the agency is moving toward at the Oregon National Primate Research Center.
The ORIP strategic plan emphasizes expanding infrastructure to support the development and use of human-based methods, aligning the office with the NIH-wide initiative to prioritize human-based research. As its implementation and the establishment of ORIVA move forward, the Physicians Committee will continue to ensure agency progress in the important shift away from animal experimentation.
