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.
Dr. Zack Howard received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of South Carolina. Her research there focused on the molecular and structural chemistry of complement component eight. Before coming to the NIH, Dr. Howard conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson…
Dr. Shinako Takada received her Ph.D. in basic medical science from the University of Tokyo in Japan, where she studied mechanisms of hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Her post-doctoral research in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley…
Dr. Sonia Ortiz-Miranda received her Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the University of California, Davis. After postdoctoral training in the Physiology Department, University of Massachusetts Medical School, she took a faculty position in the Microbiology and Physiological Sciences Department and later…
Dr. Tara Earl received her Ph.D. in social work at the University of Texas at Austin and post-doctoral training in health and mental health disparities and health services research through a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Minority/Diversity Supplement. Prior to joining CSR, Dr. Earl was…
Dr. Vishakha Sharma received her Ph.D. in molecular medicine with a concentration in pharmacology and neuroscience from the George Washington University. Her dissertation was focused on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), a genetic…
Dr. Jennifer Kielczewski received her Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology from the University of Florida. She obtained post-doctoral training in immunoregulation of the eye at the National Eye Institute (NEI) in the Laboratory of Immunology. Prior to joining CSR, she held a staff scientist…
Dr. Rebecca Burgess came to CSR from a faculty position at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland, where she taught microbiology, molecular genetics, and cell biology. Her research focused on the impact of chromatin structure on the DNA damage response, as well as best practices in the…
Dr. Robert O’Hagan received his Ph.D. in biology at Columbia University, where he studied the molecules required for sensory mechanotransduction using electrophysiological methods in the nematode, C. elegans. After a post-doctoral position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying…
After receiving a Ph.D. in anatomy from University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Ahlgren trained at the University College London and then at the California Institute of Technology. She also trained undergraduates in neurochemistry and developmental neurobiology at California State…
Mr. Lamont Williams is an Associate Director within the Office of Communications and Outreach at CSR. He has more than 25 years of experience leading and managing communications, publishing activities, media relations, and promotional efforts for a variety of organizations in the biomedical field.…
Ms. Anne Tollett is an Extramural Support Assistant within the Division of Physiological and Pathological Sciences (DPPS). After completing an apprenticeship in administrative support and communication, Anne Tollett gained extensive experience as an executive assistant with the Department of…
Ms. Gabrielle Tyler is a Division Management Analyst within the Division of Physiological and Pathological Sciences (DPPS). She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and a master’s degree in human resource management…
Dr. Elaine Sierra-Rivera serves as Chief of the Endocrine and Metabolic Systems Review Branch (EMS RB).After receiving her Ph.D. in cancer biology/radiation biology at the University of Iowa, Dr. Sierra-Rivera had postdoctoral training in the pathology department at Brown University. She then went…
Dr. Jonathan Peterson received his Ph.D. in exercise physiology at West Virginia University School of Medicine. There he studied the role of fatty acid toxicity on attenuating muscle growth in severe obesity. He then became a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Metabolism and Obesity Research at…
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. Jessica Bellinger received her Ph.D. in health services policy and management from the University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health. Before joining NIH, she was a social scientist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she directed projects examining…
Dr. Raul Covian received his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the Institute of Cell Physiology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and worked at the National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City studying mitochondrial metabolism. He obtained postdoctoral training at Dartmouth…
Dr. Sergei Ruvinov received his Ph.D. in chemical enzymology from the Moscow Lomonosov University in Russia. He came to NIH under a Fogarty International Center fellowship and conducted enzyme structure and function studies in the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the National…
Dr. Alyssa Gregory received her Ph.D. in immunology from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed post-doctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh, where her work focused on the role of neutrophils in a variety of chronic pulmonary diseases, including emphysema, lung cancer, and…
Dr. Andrew Wolfe received his Ph.D. in neurobiology and physiology from Northwestern University, where he studied regulation of reproductive neuroendocrine function. His post-doctoral training at Boston Children’s Hospital focused on understanding the cell-specific regulation of the gonadotropin…
Dr. Annie Walker-Abbey obtained her Ph.D. degree in microbiology from the Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany. She then received postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where she conducted…
Dr. David Ransom received his Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from the University of Virginia. He then obtained postdoctoral training in genetics at Harvard University. Dr. Ransom next took a faculty position in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the Oregon Health and…
Dr. Eileen Moore received a M.S. in psychology and a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from Binghamton University, State University of New York. During this time, she also obtained training in addiction neuroscience at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. She next completed…
Dr. Kathy Partlow received her Ph.D. in molecular cell biology from Washington University, St. Louis. She conducted her graduate and postdoctoral work in laboratories that specialized in imaging (e.g., ultrasound and MRI) and organic chemistry, respectively. Dr. Partlow’s research experience has…
Dr. Laureen Connell received her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Stony Brook University, where she studied the molecular mechanisms regulating the actin cytoskeleton and cell adhesion in cancer cells. She then worked as the assistant editor and then associate editor for the molecular…