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A physician writing for MedPage Today says completing an NIH biosketch for a multi-institution grant took hours, including repeated data entry and troubleshooting a certification problem caused by an extra line break. The account is an individual experience, not evidence of a system-wide failure, but it highlights concerns about administrative workload and opportunities to simplify research and clinical paperwork.
A physician writing for MedPage Today on October 12, 2026, described spending several hours completing new National Institutes of Health (NIH) biosketch forms for a multi-institution grant application, then troubleshooting a certification block caused by an extra line break. The account is a personal commentary, but it points to a wider concern for researchers and clinicians: administrative systems can require repeated data entry and manual steps that take time away from research and patient care.
The writer said colleagues invited him and several partners to join a large, multiyear NIH grant application, which required each investigator to submit a curriculum vitae and NIH biosketch materials. His previous biosketch had last been updated in 2023. He said NIH had since moved from its earlier form to a web-based platform where users manually enter and certify information.
The forms requested professional details, publication information, honors, awards, personal statements and descriptions of scientific contributions. The physician could copy some material from a recent promotion packet and retrieve bibliographic information from public sources, but he said other sections required drafting. After completing the entries, he could not find a way to certify the form. He reported checking help resources and online discussions before reviewing each field and finding an extra hard return in one entry. Removing it allowed him to proceed.
The account also describes a separate identity-verification step. The writer said he had to obtain another ID through a different website and enter it into the NIH system before the certification was accepted. He acknowledged the need to verify identities and prevent fraud, while questioning whether the process could be made less cumbersome. His examples also included clinicians printing, signing and faxing forms for home-care services and equipment, despite the availability of electronic communication and prescribing tools.
Administrative Work Competes With Care
The essay’s central concern is the time spent on repetitive administrative work across research and clinical settings. Researchers preparing a large grant may have to assemble similar information for multiple investigators, while clinicians face forms and systems that require shifting between portals, records and paper workflows. Even when each task appears small, the writer argues, the combined burden can leave professionals tired and with less time for their core work.
The writer suggests that automation, including artificial intelligence, might help transfer existing information into forms and reduce duplicate entry. That is a proposal, not a demonstrated outcome in this account: the essay provides no evaluation of an AI tool, measured time savings or evidence that automation would solve the particular certification issue. Any redesign would also need to preserve accurate records, identity checks and appropriate review of information submitted under a researcher’s name.
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A Biosketch for a Grant Team
NIH biosketches are part of the documentation researchers provide in grant applications. In this account, each participating investigator was asked to supply materials for a multi-investigator application, and the writer expected his certified PDF to be attached to a larger submission. He questioned how often such documents are read, but the source does not establish whether reviewers use or disregard the biosketches.
The essay connects that experience to the physician’s routine work. It describes electronic medical records and multiple applications as sources of repeated clicks, and gives examples of forms that still travel by fax. These are the author’s observations and examples; the article does not provide data measuring how common the cited workflows are or how much time they consume across institutions.
““So much redundancy, so much wasted energy.””
— The physician writing the MedPage Today commentary
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One Account, Broader Questions
The report is an individual physician’s account, not a formal assessment of the NIH platform or grant-review process. It does not say whether other users encountered the same certification problem, whether the extra line break was a platform defect or an entry-format issue, or whether NIH has changed the system in response.
The essay also offers no figures for how many hours biosketch preparation typically takes, how frequently paper forms are still required, or how much clinician time could be recovered through automation. It does not identify a specific AI product or establish that automatically populated forms would be accurate, secure or accepted for official submissions. The writer’s question about whether reviewers read the attachments remains his impression rather than a confirmed account of review practice.
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Whether Workflows Will Change
The commentary does not announce an NIH policy change, a new technology rollout or a scheduled follow-up. The immediate next step for researchers involved in the application is to complete the required biosketch and certification process; the source does not give the grant’s submission deadline or outcome.
Any broader change would require decisions by the organizations that manage grant submissions and clinical paperwork. The essay argues for simpler systems and less duplication, but offers no timeline or confirmed plan from NIH, health care agencies or technology providers. Whether those groups will revise forms, connect data sources or expand electronic alternatives remains unknown.
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Key Questions
What happened in the NIH biosketch account?
A physician said completing the new web-based biosketch materials for a grant application took several hours. He reported that an extra line break in one field prevented certification until he removed it.
Was this a report of an NIH-wide system failure?
No. It was an individual account published as a MedPage Today opinion essay. The source does not establish how often other users encounter the same issue.
Why did the writer criticize the process?
He argued that repeated data entry, separate identity verification and paper forms such as faxed prescriptions consume time that could be spent on research or patient care. Those are his observations, not quantified findings in the article.
Did the essay show that AI can fix the problem?
No. The writer suggested AI might help place existing information into forms, but the essay does not test an AI system or report measured savings, accuracy or security results.
What is confirmed about changes to NIH forms?
The writer said he used a web-based platform and needed an additional ID to certify his materials. The source does not report any subsequent NIH change or official response.
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