The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund is seeking input from the research community through a Request for Information (RFI) on potential new NIH-wide research initiatives. Responses are due September 19, 2026, providing an important opportunity for plant scientists to highlight how plant biology, plant-based research systems, and cross-disciplinary approaches can contribute to emerging challenges and opportunities in biomedical research.
The NIH Common Fund supports high-impact programs designed to address major scientific challenges. Responses to this RFI may help inform future Common Fund activities, including workshops, pilot projects, and the development of new research programs. More generally, the NIH – and particularly the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) – is already a significant source of funding for plant science research. This was highlighted by (then) NIGMS Deputy Director Dorit Zuk, in her 2025 article on page 18 of this edition of the ASPB News.
NIH is seeking input on:
- Critical challenges or emerging opportunities in biomedical and behavioral research;
- Resources, tools, or knowledge needed to address important scientific challenges or opportunities;
- Scientific advances or other developments that make addressing these areas particularly timely;
- Challenges that small laboratories or research groups face related to funding, contracting, or navigating the regulatory landscape; and
- Research opportunities that align with priorities identified in NIH’s broader agency-wide strategies, including “Advancing NIH’s Mission Through a Unified Strategy and the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy.”
For ASPB members, this RFI provides an opportunity to ensure that plant science perspectives are represented as NIH considers its next generation of cross-cutting research priorities. Plant systems offer powerful and complementary approaches for understanding fundamental biological processes and can contribute to research questions spanning human health, nutrition, environmental exposures, microbiomes, biotechnology, natural products, and other interdisciplinary areas.
ASPB members are well-positioned to help NIH identify scientific opportunities where plant biology can contribute unique tools, systems, data, and expertise.
You can take action by:
- Submitting comments to the NIH Common Fund RFI by September 19, 2026. Researchers can highlight emerging scientific opportunities, infrastructure needs, interdisciplinary areas, and challenges that would benefit from coordinated NIH investment, including the value of plant systems in advancing biomedical research.
Your input can help ensure that plant science is represented as NIH develops its next generation of ambitious, cross-cutting research initiatives.
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