CSR’s primary role is to handle the receipt and review of ~ 75% of the grant applications that NIH receives. NIH separates the review process from funding decisions.
For Reviewers
Reviewers are critical to our mission to see that NIH grant applications receive, fair, independent, expert, and timely scientific reviews. We appreciate the generosity with which reviewers give their time.
News & Policy
The latest news and policy updates from CSR. Read about our outreach programs and publications.
Study Sections
Applications are reviewed in study sections (Scientific Review Group, SRG). Review Branches (RBs) are clusters of study sections based on scientific discipline.
Review Panels & Dates
Applications are reviewed in study sections (Scientific Review Group, SRG). Review Branches (RBs) are clusters of study sections based on scientific discipline.
Dr. Bruce Reed is CSR’s Deputy Director. In close collaboration with the Director he works to optimize peer review at the NIH through implementation of CSRs strategic plan. He has led multiple special efforts to develop new review practices and policies. He plays a major role with respect to…
After obtaining a D.V.M. degree from the University of Agriculture, Dr. Shah received a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Boston University, where his research focused on the neurotransmitter expression in the embryonic neurons. Dr. Shah conducted postdoctoral studies on the regulation…
Dr. Byung Min (Justin) Chung received his Ph.D. degree in cancer research from Northwestern University, where he studied kinase signaling pathways in non-small cell lung cancer. He then moved on to Johns Hopkins School of Public Health for his postdoctoral training, elucidating non-mechanical…
Dr. Tang-Toth received her Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University and did her postdoctoral training as an IRTA fellow within the Cell Biology and Metabolism Program at the NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Prior to joining CSR, Dr. Tang-Toth was an associate…
Dr. Carl White earned a Ph.D. in physiology from Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, where he investigated calcium-dependent cell-signaling mechanisms. Dr. White then joined the faculty of Rosalind Franklin…
Dr. Perez-Torres earned his Ph.D. in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine and followed that up with postdoctoral training in the Department of Radiology at Washington University in Saint Louis. Dr. Perez-Torres then took a faculty position in the School of…
Dr. Carmen Bertoni received her Ph.D. from the University of Perugia, Italy. Her postdoctoral work at Stanford University was centered on optimizing gene therapy strategies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). She then joined the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as an assistant…
Dr. Chee Lim serves as Chief of the Musculoskeletal, Skin, and Oral Sciences Review Branch (MSOS RB).
Dr. Chee Chew Lim received his Ph.D. in physiology and then did his postdoctoral training in age-associated diastolic dysfunction at Boston University School of Medicine. Before joining the NIH,…
Dr. Christine DiDonato received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University. She did two postdoctoral training periods in Canada. First at Hospital Ste. Justine Research Center in Montréal, Québec, and then at Ottawa Health Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario where she gained…
Dr. Christopher Mahone earned his Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he studied activating signals of bacterial cell wall remodeling for division. Following his Ph.D., he joined the Milken Institute’s Pillar for Philanthropy as a senior associate,…
Dr. Christopher Payne received his Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology at the Oregon Health and Science University, where he studied the mechanisms regulating cytoskeletal and membrane dynamics during mammalian fertilization. Following postdoctoral training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer…
Dr. Cristina Bäckman received her early education in Sweden, Linköping university. She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience form the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Before joining CSR, she was an intramural researcher at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Her laboratory…