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. Kristin Kramer received her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Minnesota, completed postdoctoral training at both the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She then served as an assistant professor in…
Dr. Krystyna Szymczyk came to CSR after working at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases intramural research program in bioinformatics and data science. She received a Ph.D. in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Her…
Dr. Kumud Singh serves as Chief of the Immunology and Infectious Diseases A Review Branch (IIDA RB).Dr. Kumud K. Singh earned his Ph.D. in biophysics at the University of Delhi, India, where he studied the structure-functional properties of catalytic RNAs. His postdoctoral research at the…
Dr. Lai Yee Leung received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Wayne State University, and continued her post-doctoral training at the Center for Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) under the National Research Council Research Associateship Program. At…
Dr. Lambratu Rahman Sesay serves as Chief of the Cancer Therapeutics Review Branch (CTH RB).Dr. Lambratu Rahman Sesay received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Howard University in Washington, DC. Before coming to CSR, she was an intramural research training associate in the Molecular Therapeutics…
Dr. Latha Malaiyandi received her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where her dissertation investigated the role of toxic heavy metals in neuronal injury models. She joined the biology faculty at Francis Marion University, a small liberal arts institution…
Dr. Laura Asnaghi received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry from the University of Milan in Italy. She subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, before joining the Department of Pathology of Johns Hopkins…
Dr. Lauren Penney is an anthropologist and implementation scientist. She received a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Arizona, where she also conducted post-doctoral research on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster with funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and,…
Dr. Laurent Taupenot’s academic background includes a B.S in biochemistry, cellular biology and physiology and a M.S in physiology from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France, an advanced degree (DEA) in molecular and cellular biology and a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular neurobiology, both…
Dr. Liangbiao Zheng received his Ph. D. in biology from Harvard University. His postdoctoral training at Harvard focused on molecular genetics of mosquitoes. He continued his research in vector biology with special emphases on host-pathogen interactions and innate immunity as a staff scientist in…
She came to CSR from the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH, where she was a staff scientist for the last ten years. Prior this, she worked at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Topol is a graduate of the Moscow State University with a bachelor degree in physiology, and she has a Ph.D…
Dr. Linda Jurata received her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego, where she studied interactions between transcription factors and transcription mediators in the context of vertebrate development. During her NIH-supported postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk…
Dr. Lindsey Page, MPH, ACSM-CEP, received her Ph.D. in patient-oriented research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she studied the relationship between cognitive decline, frailty, and physical activity and coordinated exercise trials aimed to improve cognition, fitness…
Dr. Lisa Steele serves as Chief of the Epidemiology and Population Health Review Branch (EPH RB).Dr. Lisa Steele received her Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University with an emphasis on CD8 T cell responses to microbial pathogens. Following her graduate work, she entered CDC as a CDC/APHL…
Dr. Liying Guo received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Laboratory of Immunology (LI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Before joining…
Dr. Lystranne Maynard-Smith obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University with a focus on development of a chemical biology approach to controlling protein stability. She then pursued her postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry, NIDDK with an emphasis on…
Dr. Elena Shiffert earned her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, studying the effects of estrogen receptor alpha on cancer regression in mouse models. She trained as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Training Program in Breast Cancer Biology at Georgetown University,…
Dr. Manzoor A. Zarger received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology, and conducted his postdoctoral studies at Thomas Jefferson University, where he was at the forefront of apoptosis research discovering various caspases, death receptors, and anti-apoptotic molecules, and their roles in…
Dr. Maqsood Wani serves as Chief of the Cell and Developmental Biology Review Branch (CDB RB).
Dr. Maqsood Wani received his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University and did his postdoctoral work at the University of Cincinnati where he was also a new investigator in Program of Excellence in Molecular…
Dr. Marc Boulay received his Ph.D. in international health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he then served as an assistant professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society and as the Deputy Director for Program Evaluation in the School’s Center for…
Dr. Marcus Ferrone received his PharmD. degree in nuclear medicine/pharmacy from the University of Tennessee after completing his undergraduate and graduate studies in synthetic organometallic chemistry at Emory University. Dr. Ferrone completed his clinical residency at Columbus Regional Medical…