# January 2026 Newsletter

In this month’s newsletter you’ll find new insights, upcoming learning opportunities, and the latest platform updates designed to support faster, more rigorous evidence synthesis. Industry Update: NIH SBIR Funding Pause The NIH is temporarily unable to issue new SBIR awards due to a lapse in program authorization. Applications may continue through peer review and receive

Source: https://picoportal.org/blog/january-2026-newsletter/

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<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 24px 0; font-weight: 400;">In this month’s newsletter you’ll find new insights, upcoming learning opportunities, and the latest platform updates designed to support faster, more rigorous evidence synthesis.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin: 32px 0 12px 0;">Industry Update: NIH SBIR Funding Pause</h3>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-weight: 400;">The NIH is temporarily unable to issue new SBIR awards due to a lapse in program authorization. Applications may continue through peer review and receive scores; however, no Phase I, Phase II, or renewal awards can be funded at this time. Applications will be held pending reauthorization.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 28px 0; font-weight: 400;">Additional details are outlined in<br />
<a style="color: #1188e6;" href="https://seed.nih.gov/">NIH Notice NOT-OD-26-006</a>.</p>
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<h3 style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin: 32px 0 12px 0;">Learning Opportunities</h3>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-weight: 400;">Join us on <strong>Thursday, February 12 at 11:00 AM EST</strong> for a webinar featuring a real-world case study on <strong>AI-assisted data extraction</strong> in evidence synthesis.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 28px 0; font-weight: 400;">The session will examine how AI-supported workflows can accelerate data extraction while maintaining methodological rigor, with discussion of lessons learned, practical use cases, and best practices for responsible integration. Registration details will be shared soon.</p>
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<h3 style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin: 32px 0 12px 0;">PICO Portal Updates</h3>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-weight: 400;">Structured data extraction is among the most time-intensive steps in evidence synthesis. PICO Portal supports AI-assisted data extraction by surfacing suggested responses directly from full-text sources, along with highlighted supporting passages for reviewer assessment.</p>
<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.65; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-weight: 400;">Final decisions remain with the reviewer, preserving methodological rigor, transparent reporting, and reproducibility, while reducing manual effort associated with data extraction.</p>
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