Grant-review panels for more than half of National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes are on track to lose all their voting members within the year.

Why it’s important: Federal law requires these panels to review applications for all but the smallest grants before funding can be awarded. This means that the institutes may soon be unable to issue new grants.

The details: Membership has been dwindling as members serve out their terms without replacements being appointed. Dozens of scientists who were poised to fill these vacancies were dismissed last year by the Trump administration.

Federal law allows for a single 180-day extension of a panelist’s term if their replacement has not yet joined, but nearly all of the members whose terms are set to expire this year have already received this extension.

The numbers: At 12 of the institutes and 1 center, the last voting member’s term is set to expire by the end of the year.

At the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 8 members’ terms are expiring, 10 spots are open, and there are 10 months until the end of the last member’s term.
At the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), 6 members’ terms are expiring this year, and 12 spots are open. There are 9 months remaining until the end of the last member’s term.
At the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 7 members’ terms are expiring this year, and 11 spots are open, with 8 months until the end of the last member’s term.