Foreign Interference

Overview

NIH research is built on a set of bedrock principles of scientific excellence, unassailable integrity, and fair competition. NIH expects applicants for and recipients of NIH-supported research — both domestic and foreign — to abide by these principles.

It is critical for NIH-supported institutions and their researchers to be wholly transparent about financial support from and affiliations with international institutions. Such transparency ensures that NIH's funding decisions are fair and appropriate, and that U.S. institutions and the American public benefit from their investment in biomedical research.

The biomedical research workforce continues to be greatly enriched and strengthened by scientists working together from many parts of the world. The extraordinary contributions of foreign nationals to American science are indisputable. The overwhelming majority of researchers participating in NIH grants, both in the U.S. and in other countries, are honest contributors to the advancement of knowledge that benefits us all. The research community must find ways to build and continue these important and successful relationships with foreign scientists around the world while simultaneously protecting the Nation's biomedical innovations and intellectual property.