CSR’s primary role is to handle the receipt and review of all 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.
Study Sections
Applications are reviewed in study sections (Scientific Review Groups, SRGs). Review Branches (RBs) are clusters of study sections based on scientific discipline.
Review Meetings
Applications are reviewed in study sections (Scientific Review Groups, SRGs). Review Branches (RBs) are clusters of study sections based on scientific discipline.
Evaluation Initiatives
Access data visualizations, reports, and analytical tools to track progress.
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. 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. Jimok Kim received his Ph.D. degree in neuroscience from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University studying neurophysiology and cannabinoid receptor pharmacology. Thereafter, Dr. Kim moved to the Medical College of Georgia, where his…
Richard K Nakamura, Lee S Mann, Mark D Lindner, Jeremy Braithwaite, Mei-Ching Chen, Adrian Vancea, Noni Byrnes, Valerie Durrant, Bruce Reed (2021) An experimental test of the effects of redacting grant applicant identifiers on peer review outcomes. eLife 2021;10:e71368. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.…
New to IAR? Want to know what happens once you receive a meeting invitation from your Scientific Review Officer? Or how to access grant applications and meeting materials? Or look up conflicts of interest? We have just the tools for you.
A new series of video tutorial on navigating the IAR module…
Dr. Andersen received her Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She furthered her training at Harvard Medical School, becoming a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and directing her laboratory for nearly 30 years. Dr. Andersen studied how…
Dr. Vivian Tang holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. After obtaining her degrees, she received postdoctoral training at the Harvard Medical School. Before joining CSR, Dr. Tang was a research assistant professor and…
Dr. Paul Hewett previously served as a senior associate at the Population Council, an international non-Governmental Organization whose mission is to improve the well-being and reproductive health of current and future generations. During his more than 20 years there, he worked in developing…
Dr. Ganesan Ramesh obtained his doctorate from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, where his dissertation focused on the role of TGF-βs in pre-implantation embryo development and its regulation by steroid hormones in the uterus. His expertise is in kidney pathophysiology and…
Dr. Joshua Park holds an MS degree in pharmacology, microbiology, and immunology from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology from Johns Hopkins University. Thereafter, he pursued postdoctoral training at the National Institute of…
Dr. Jennifer C. Villa received a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences and conducted her thesis research on gamma-secretase regulation of notch signaling in hypoxic breast cancer at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She received postdoctoral training…
Dr. Sindhu Kizhakke Madathil received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Calcutta, India, where she focused on neuroprotective strategies for Parkinson’s disease in preclinical models. She then moved to the University of Kentucky, where she conducted…
NIH Will Consider Your Career Stage IfYou submit an R01 grant applicationYou are an Early Stage Investigator (ESI)A New Investigator is someone who has not previously received substantial independent funding from NIH. Having received an award for training (such as a fellowship or K award) does not…
ENQUIRE 2019 - These reports detail the changes in scientific scope for study sections evaluated under the ENQUIRE process in 2019. ENQUIRE integrates data and input from multiple stakeholders – the external scientific community, extramural programs at NIH, and CSR staff to consider changes…
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. Aurea De Sousa has a technical background in chemistry and holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics. She completed postdoctoral training in cell biology of molecular motors and neurobiology of septate junctions at the paranodes of myelinated axons at the University of North Carolina.…
Dr. Vonda Smith is an Assistant Director in the Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR) at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR).Prior to this position, she served as Scientific Review Officer(SRO) of the Small Business: Bioanalytical Chemistry, Chemistry, Biophysics, and Assay Development Study…
Dr. Bita Nakhai received her Ph.D. in reproductive biology from the National Institute of Immunology (NII) and pursued her research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a postdoctoral fellow with a focus on serotonin receptor gene expression, followed by additional…
Dr. Ivan Rebustini received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Sao Paulo and was a postdoctoral visiting fellow at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), where he specialized in molecular, developmental, and regenerative biology. He joined Brigham and…
Dr. Yi Liu earned his Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology and received his postdoctoral training in developmental genetics from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining CSR, he was an associate professor of research and the principal investigator and co-investigator of NIH…
Prior to the meeting, reviewers are assigned to your application.Your scientific review officer (SRO) is your main contact while your application is under peer review. The SRO will analyze the content of your application, check for completeness and compliance with policies, and decide which…