Applicants for US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants will now be asked to contextualize past work, which could help early-career researchers. A revised 'biosketch' section instructs scientists to explain how their experience will allow them to accomplish the proposal's goals. Sally Rockey, the NIH's deputy director for extramural research, has said that the change puts focus on an applicant's skills and accomplishments, not just their publications. The format is being rolled out in January and will become mandatory for most NIH grants on 25 May. Online tools such as SciENcv have been updated to help applicants to create biosketches that can be used across various government agencies.