The National Institutes of Health recently implemented a policy to expand the definition of a clinical trial in order to promote quality and increase transparency in research. While the goal is shared by scientists, the new policy has already proven problematic by rolling much basic research into the review and reporting processes commonly reserved for actual clinical trials.

The FSU Office of research provided NIH with specific examples of the impact of the new policy, echoing statements from national higher education groups such as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.