NIH Common Form, Biographical Sketch and Supplement: Known Issues, NIH Training Requirements Summary & New Office Hours

Updated Resource pages

• Other Support 
• Other Support FAQ’s
• NIH Biographical Sketch Format 
• Other Support Teams Channel

Previous Resources:

• 9.25.2025 NOT-OD-25-152 Preview of NIH Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support in SciENcv
• 12.3.2025 NIH's Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026.
• 12.17.2025 RA Town Hall 12.17, Other Support and NIH Biographical Sketch Form Pages, Form Conversion on SciENcv and Office Hours.
• 12.23.2025 OSR Resources and Office Hours for New NIH Other Support and Biographical Sketch Common Forms
• 1.08.2026 NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours January 8th
• 1.13.2026 NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours  January 13th

Current Known Issues

1. eRA Commons Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Forms for JIT, RPPRs and Prior Approval of PD/PI Request
   1. eRA Commons has notified that it will update its portal on January 24^th for JIT, RPPRs Prior Approval of PD/PI Request for submissions on or after January 25, 2026, to accommodate new forms. Please work with your OSR Staff representative.
   2. See Other Support page for more information including How to Prepare NIH Other Support resources, a Department and PI Checklist, and UCSF eProposal Pending Proposal Report Instructions.
   3. Reminder: Post-award analysts and PIs are responsible for reviewing the Other Support document to ensure that the information contained within the document is complete and accurate prior to submission to the sponsor. If the PI directly submits the Current and Pending (Other) Support to OSR, the OSR Staff Member will send it to the post-award analyst to ask if any changes are needed and to request an update by a specific due date. 
   4. OSR Attestations are no longer required for applications due on or after January 25, 2026, using the new NIH Other Support Common Form.
   5. Other Support Training is required for Senior/Key Personnel; see NIH Training Requirements Summary below.
2. Links Generated in SciENcv within the Biosketch Common Forms 
   1. Nationally, questions are being asked about the links being created in SciENcv and if they are allowable in NIH Submissions. This question was raised to Michelle Bulls, the NIH Director of Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA), at a forum on Tuesday, 1/13/2026, without a definitive answer. Currently, OSR does not recommend altering or removing the links automatically created in SciENcv, as the agency requires the platform to be used when producing compliant (and not flattened) documents for submission. 
3. Reconciling NCBI Accounts 
   1. A PI will need to reconcile multiple accounts if there is more than one in NCBI to successfully link their ORCID account by contacting the NCBI Help Desk. The Help Desk is currently sending responses that they will not be able to respond to requests for assistance until late January.  In Tuesday's 1/13/2026 Forum, Michelle Bulls, NIH OPERA Director, stated that late applications would be considered with documented tickets, which may include errors or issues with Common Form creation, and that those requests would be dealt with on a one-on-one basis. 
4. PI needs to link ORCID ID
   1. The PI needs to link their ORCID ID. If the Delegate links it, the Delegate's ORCID ID will be linked instead. 
5. How to Delegate
   1. Instructions on how to add a delegate are on the Other Support and NIH Biographical Sketch pages. 
6. Account Issues When Delegating
   1. When a researcher adds a Delegate in NCBI, they may select any email address associated with that individual. If the Delegate automatically accepts the request without noticing which email address was used, this can create issues. The Delegate may unintentionally create two separate NCBI accounts
   2. Reconciling accounts require assistance from the NCBI Help Desk, which is currently experiencing delays through late January.
7. Which Forms Should Be Used 
   1. A common mistake is choosing the incorrect form. Please review the forms you are receiving when using this new Biographical Sketch Common Form, the Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form, and the new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to make sure it is the newest version for submissions on or after January 25, 2026. Per the NIH  Notice the sponsor will fully implement errors, preventing successful submission, for forms that are not compliant with the new format on or after February 5^th, 2026. This is linked on the Other Support page and NIH Biographical Sketch Page. 
   2. The Malign Foreign Talent Certification should be included in the new Biographical Sketch. If it is not reflected in the Biographical Sketch, the investigator used the wrong form template.
8. Common Forms that include “Certifying to Research Security Training”
   1. In the Forum on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, Michelle Bulls, NIH OPERA Director, responded to questions regarding the Biographical Sketch Common Form being generated, which includes language that the PI certifies they have completed the Research Security Training even though the requirement is not implemented until May.  Ms. Bulls confirmed that the common form does not need to be regenerated; the NIH will handle the review internally, even though the certification is not a requirement for submission. It is up to the Senior Key Person's judgment if they want to recreate the form to remove the language if already created. 
9. OSR Compliance Review of New Other Support and Biographical Sketch Forms
   1. Reminder: Post-award analysts and PIs are responsible for reviewing the Other Support document to ensure that the information contained within the document is complete and accurate prior to submission to the sponsor. If PI directly submits the Current and Pending (Other) Support, to OSR, the OSR Staff will send it to the post-award analyst, asking them to review for necessary changes or updates by a specific due date. 
   2. See Other Support page for more information including How to Prepare NIH Other Support resources, Department and PI Checklist, and UCSF eProposal Pending Proposal Report Instructions.
10. Removed Bibliography Link 
    1. At this time, the Common Form does not include a field for a bibliography or “completed works” link. This issue has not yet been resolved, and there is currently no link available to include completed works. The concern has been raised with Michelle Bulls, NIH OPERA Director, and we are awaiting further guidance. Additional instructions will be shared with staff as soon as they become available.
11. NIH K Applications Require New Common Forms and Biographical Sketch Supplement
    1. Based on the Notice, use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support, and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement will be required for application due dates and all JIT, RPPR, and Prior Approval submissions on or after January 25, 2026.  

NIH Training Requirements Summary 

Quick review of NIH Training Requirements. 

Other Support Public page and the News article reflect changes above. 

New/ Additional NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours

Additional Office Hours have been added for all UCSF employees on the new NIH Biosketch and Common Forms.

 Please use this form to submit questions in advance   

January

• 22^nd, Thursday 10:10 am - 11 am Registration Link 

• 27^th Tuesday, 10:10 am - 11 am Registration Link

We have updated the Announcement  with these dates and times. This is included in the Other Support Teams channel.

Training Videos 

• You can now access recordings of previously held NIH Biosketch and Commons Forms Office Hours January 8^th  and January 13^th  .   (UCSF MyAccess is required to access the videos)