NIH Launches New Office to Advance Human-Based Research and Reduce Animal Use

The National Institutes of Health launched the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application, known as ORIVA, on June 17, 2026. The new office sits within the NIH Director's office and will coordinate the development and adoption of human-based research methods across NIH programs.

ORIVA will support what researchers call New Approach Methodologies, or NAMs. These include three-dimensional tissue models grown from human cells, organ-on-a-chip devices, and computer simulations of biological systems. The goal is to develop research tools that more accurately predict how treatments will work in people.

NIH said the new office will also work to reduce the use of animals in research. Animal models have long been a standard part of biomedical research, but scientists have noted that results in animals often do not translate to humans. Many drug candidates that succeed in animal studies fail in human clinical trials.

The launch of ORIVA reflects a broader shift in the research community toward human-relevant methods. Advances in cell biology, tissue engineering, and computational modeling have made it possible to study human disease in ways that were not available a decade ago.

NIH said ORIVA will coordinate with other federal agencies, academic institutions, and industry partners to validate new methods and help researchers adopt them. The office will also work with the Food and Drug Administration, which has been updating its guidelines to allow more human-based data in drug approval applications.

The announcement was welcomed by research advocacy groups that have pushed for years to modernize biomedical research methods.