NIH Strategic Plan: Your Voice Matters

Help shape the future of biomedical research funding

How to Submit Your Comments

The NIH Request for Information (RFI) is open to everyone. Your personal story and perspective matter. Use the talking points below as a guide, but your own words and experiences are most powerful.

Visit the NIH RFI Form

Go to the NIH RFI submission form to begin your submission.

Fill in Your Information

Enter your contact information. You can submit as an individual or on behalf of an organization.

Share Your Thoughts

Pick one or two (or all!) of the talking points below to plug into the form, or re-write them in your own words for a more tailored response.

Submit Before the Deadline

Make sure to submit by May 26th, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.

Priority 1: Research Areas

Talking Points for Research Areas

Nearly every major medical advancement of the last century — including vaccines, organ transplantation, reproductive medicine, treatments for neurological disease, HIV therapies, and cancer immunotherapies — depended on animal research.
New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) like organoids, AI models, and cell culture systems are valuable tools, but they have not replaced the need for animal research in understanding whole-body physiology, immunity, development, metabolism, reproduction, or brain function.
Animal models and NAMs are complementary, not competing. NAMs help identify mechanisms and screen therapies, while animal models remain essential for studying development, behavior, immune response, long-term safety, and complex disease biology.
Gene therapies and emerging treatments for disorders rely on animal research for safety, dosing, delivery, and durability studies. NAMs and animal studies must be designed based on context of use.
Discovery biology depends on studying living systems that NAMs cannot replicate because we don’t yet understand the underlying biology. Many transformative breakthroughs come from basic research long before clinical applications are obvious.

Priority 2: Research Capacity

Talking Points for Research Capacity

Biomedical research infrastructure represents decades of scientific investment and expertise that cannot quickly be rebuilt once lost.
Nonhuman primates remain uniquely important for studying complex brain function, cognition, infectious disease, immune systems, reproduction, aging, genetics, metabolism, and translational medicine.
Maintaining responsible animal research capacity is essential for future breakthroughs in neuroscience, vaccines, reproductive health, metabolic disease, aging, and pandemic preparedness.
Investments in housing, enrichment, and welfare improve both animal wellbeing and scientific quality. Establishing metadata standards following FAIR principles will lead to virtual control groups and lead to meaningful reduction of animal enrollment in studies to a degree far more impactful than NAMs alone.
If the United States abandons critical animal research capacity, much of this work will move overseas to countries with weaker oversight and welfare standards.

Priority 3: Research Operations

Talking Points for Research Operations

Public trust in science depends on transparency, ethical oversight, and honest communication about why animal research is still necessary for many areas of medicine and public health.
Animal research and NAMs should not be framed as opposing approaches. The strongest biomedical science uses each where it is most scientifically appropriate.
Decisions about research policy should be guided by scientific evidence, patient need, and expert review — not by volume-driven advocacy campaigns.
Ethical animal research has made vaccines, gene therapies, reproductive medicine, organ transplantation, DBS, and countless other medical advancements possible.
Compassion for animals and commitment to curing disease are not opposing values. Responsible biomedical research requires both.