The National Institutes of Health Has Limited Policies, Procedures, and Controls in Place for Helping To Ensure That Institutions Report All Sources of Research Support, Financial Interests, and Affiliations

News reports have raised concerns about foreign threats to the United States biomedical research enterprise. In a letter to institutes receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, the Director of NIH highlighted concerns about diversion of intellectual property; sharing of confidential information from grant applications; and the failure by some NIH funded researchers to report substantial financial support from other organizations, including foreign governments. Our objective was to determine whether NIH has policies, procedures, and controls in place for helping to ensure that institutions report all sources of research support, financial interests, and affiliations.