Exploring NIH First and Its Intent

NIH First is a significant federal initiative designed to influence hiring practices at universities and medical schools across the country, specifically focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This program has allocated approximately $250 million in grant funding to support academic institutions in creating a more diverse biomedical workforce by requiring the use of diversity statements as a key criterion in faculty hiring processes. The impact of NIH First can be illustrated by its grant distribution, with about 15 institutions receiving funding that mandates hiring efforts prioritize DEI considerations, fundamentally altering how medical scientists are recruited. This has led to a substantial shift in hiring practices, prompting discussions on whether other leading academic institutions will adopt similar strategies or choose to abandon mandatory diversity statements, as seen with recent announcements from MIT and Harvard.