The Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) provided a detailed response to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the use and recognition of interim research products, particularly preprints, within life sciences research. They emphasize the increasing prevalence and significance of interim materials such as preprints, datasets, algorithms, and preregistered methods as vital tools that expedite scientific communication and foster broader collaboration. Preprints, in particular, are highlighted as accelerating the dissemination of research findings and supporting career development by bypassing delays inherent to traditional journal publication. The organizations note the valuable role of platforms like bioRxiv, Zenodo, and Github in hosting and sharing these products, and they underscore the growing acceptance of preprints in fields such as genomics.
AAU and COGR also present recommendations for standardizing the citation of interim research outputs to ensure proper attribution, discoverability, and the ability to track scientific impact. They support the inclusion of preprints and similar products in NIH applications, recognizing the need for both flexibility in reporting and careful evaluation by reviewers given the non-peer-reviewed nature of these materials. The document advocates for reviewers’ access to preprints to assess applicants' ongoing work and warns that, as the use of preprints expands in the life sciences, NIH should implement careful and deliberate policies to maintain scientific validity and the integrity of the review process. Overall, the AAU and COGR view the promotion and thoughtful integration of interim research products as beneficial for science and researcher development, but recommend measured implementation and robust citation standards.
