January 2025

On January 17, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) released its 2025 Strategic Plan. The updated NICHD Strategic Plan sets forth its priorities and research goals for the next five years, building on the goals included in the 2020 NICHD Strategic Plan.

Consistent with the 2020 NICHD Strategic Plan, the 2025 plan includes five scientific research goals:

• Understanding the Molecular, Cellular, and Structural Basis of Development
• Advancing Gynecologic, Andrologic, and Reproductive Health
• Setting the Foundation for Healthy Pregnancies and Lifelong Wellness
• Improving Child and Adolescent Health and the Transition to Adulthood
• Fostering Safe and Effective Therapeutics and Devices for Pregnant Women, Lactating Women, Children, and People with Disabilities

The plan notes, “the research opportunities and scientific priorities within each goal reflect advancements in the scientific landscape and the resulting new opportunities for innovative scientific discovery.” Under the fourth goal, the scientific objectives and principles include “Increase understanding of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development from infancy through adolescence to optimize timing of interventions supporting child health and development.”

The 2025 plan also includes several cross-cutting themes within all of the types of research that NICHD supports: health disparities and health equity, prevention, infectious disease, nutrition, global health, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, and research training and career development. Under “Research Capacity and Scientific Stewardship,” the 2025 plan notes priorities to support training and career development, facilitating data sharing and access to biospecimens, and partnering to enhance science.

NICHD provided the opportunity for input into the 2025 Strategic Plan through listening sessions and through a public Request for Information (RFI). AERA submitted a response to the RFI in October 2024.