The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently searching for the next director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), following the termination of former NINDS director Walter Koroshetz in January. The director oversees the institute’s budget and nearly 1,300 employees and co-leads several NIH programs, including the Brain Initiative and the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. The NIH is accepting applications for the director role until 27 April.
The NINDS has a budget of $2.8 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, an increase from $2.69 billion in 2025. Since last year, however, the NIH has been funding an increased number of multiyear awards—which pay for all years of a project up front instead of year by year—resulting in less money available for new grantees. Indeed, the NIH awarded 37 percent fewer new neuroscience-related grants last year, despite spending nearly all of its budget, according to an analysis by The Transmitter.
Neuroscientists across the United States shared with The Transmitter what they hope the new director prioritizes during their tenure, from providing increased support to early-career researchers to investing in basic science. Here are a few of their suggestions, in their own words.
These comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
“My sense is that NINDS needs a great director now more than ever, and the key qualities necessary in a director are an interest in listening to a variety of stakeholders, including disease groups, science and professional societies, persons affected by neuro disorders, legislators, leads at other government agencies and especially NINDS staff; skilled in assessing various options before make decisions across the neuroscience spectrum; and integrity. For someone for whom this shoe fits, the job offers immense opportunity to do good things.”
—Walter Koroshetz, former director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
“NINDS has for many years deftly balanced supporting their important clinical mission with the need to maintain investments in fundamental basic science. This balance has allowed NINDS and the community to benefit from laboratories of different sizes and perspectives. Given the fact that understanding the brain in health and disease requires new knowledge in multiple areas of inquiry, I would hope that the new director retains these balances but couples these with understanding that the research community now can benefit from a host of new methodologies and perspectives.”
—Eve Marder, professor of biology, Brandeis University
“There are many important challenges for the next leader of NINDS, but I place these two at the top of my list: First, the new director is really going to need to focus on maintaining the pipeline of young scientists in our field. I think that postdocs and new faculty are under the biggest funding strain that I have seen in my career. The evidence I have seen suggests fewer new principal investigators are getting funded, fewer fellowships are getting funded, and anxiety among these folks is at an all-time high level.
“This is a critical problem that affects all of us and rises to the level of a national security problem, in my opinion. The second is keeping up momentum on development of new therapeutics for neurological disorders. The neurotherapeutics blueprint, the HEAL Initiative and other programs have been very successful but cannot lose momentum to achieve their potential to transform the treatment landscape in neuroscience and neurology.”
—Theodore Price, professor of neuroscience, University of Texas at Dallas
“We were all shocked that the previous NINDS director, Walter Koroshetz, was not renewed, as he was a popular and steadfast director. NIH institute directors are critical for setting funding priorities. My biggest concern is independence—will the new director be free to make decisions that are not politically influenced? Of course, the director needs to be a well-regarded scientist with a broad knowledge of neurological diseases. Continuing to fund basic science is critical. The new director also needs to continue prioritizing early-career scientists and maintain a diverse portfolio of investigators. NINDS built phenomenal programs that prioritized marginalized and underrepresented scientists, which included the D-SPAN and MOSAIC awards. Although these awards are now defunct under the current administration, there may still be creative mechanisms to continue career development awards in a similar vein.” Shepherd’s views do not represent the University of Utah.
—Jason Shepherd, professor of neurobiology, University of Utah
“I would like the new NINDS director to match the previous director’s compassion and foresight in prioritizing early-stage investigators, trainees and team science awards, thereby strengthening the pipeline, acknowledging collaborative science, protecting our investment in future researchers and sustaining trust in the scientific enterprise.”
—Nathan Smith, associate professor of neuroscience, University of Rochester
