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. 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. 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…
Dr. Cynthia McOliver obtained her Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences and a risk sciences and public policy certificate from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has…
Dr. Balasundaram has previously served as the SRO for the Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Structure/Function and Dynamics Study Section (NCSD), and the Intercellular Interactions Study Section (ICI). In addition to his SRO duties, he serves as a Referral Officer in CSR’s Division of Receipt and Referral.…
Dr. David Filpula received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota and completed postdoctoral training in protein chemistry and molecular genetics at Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego. Subsequently, he served for nearly three decades as a research…
Dr. David E. Pollio received his Ph.D. in social work and psychology from the University of Michigan. He came to CSR after serving as a distinguished professor, chairing the department of social work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Prior to that he was the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed…
After receiving a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, Dr. James served for 11 years at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she began as a grants administrator for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in the Division of Food Safety and Nutrition. Her later years at USDA were…
Dr. Daya Jirage earned her Ph. D in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She then pursued post-doctoral research in infectious diseases at the Walter Reed Army of Research. Her research included work on cell cycle regulation in Plasmodium and on process…
Dr. DeAnna Bublitz received her Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics from Stony Brook University. She then trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (NIAID/NIH) studying intracellular pathogens. Later as a staff scientist at the University of Montana she studied…
Dr. Debasmita (Deb) Patra is an interdisciplinary social scientist and received a Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Hyderabad, India. She did her postdoctoral training at the Cornell Nanoscale Facility. Her research and teaching broadly looked at the impact of science and technology on society…