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. Laude received a master’s degree in human biology and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Paris, France. Her emphasis of the research was cytokine induction in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass and the association of HIV infection with cytokines. She completed a postdoctoral…
Dr. Nakia Brown received her Ph.D. in biopsychology from the University of Michigan. Her professional background includes experience in organizational and program evaluation within the public and private sectors. She has supported several NIH trans-agency initiatives focused on advancing community-…
Dr. Stephanie Hicks received her Ph.D. in biochemistry, cellular, and molecular biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in the Pharmacology Department, where she conducted structure-function…
Dr. Stephen Gallo received his Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of Buffalo, exploring novel methods of transdermal drug delivery using rheological, histological, and imaging techniques. He then trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), examining the membrane…
Dr. Aster Juan received her Ph.D. in developmental biology from Yale University and completed her postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). She later became a staff scientist at NIAMS and was involved in mentoring PhD students…
Dr. Ingrid Li received a doctorate in pharmacy after which she became a faculty member in the Department of New Drug Research in Shanghai, China. She has held research scientist positions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Meyers Squibb Pharmaceutical Division, and Bayer Pharmaceutical Division…
Dr. Izabella Zandberg received her Ph.D. in mass communications at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining CSR, she served as a social scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Tobacco Products. During her tenure at FDA, Dr. Zandberg designed and implemented…
Ms. Carla Ward is an Ethics Program Specialist located in the Office of the Director. She, along with other Ethics Specialists, are responsible for being the first line of contact for employees. Ms. Ward assists CSR’s Deputy Ethics Counselor with handling the day-to-day functioning of…
Dr. Baskaran Thyagarajan received a master’s degree in pharmacy with a specialization in Pharmaceutics from Banaras Hindu University, India, and pursued a Ph.D. in molecular physiology and pharmacology from Karl-Franzen’s University of Graz, Austria. He completed his post-doctoral training at the…
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. Elia Ortenberg serves as Chief of the Social and Community Influences Across the Lifecourse Review Branch (SCIL RB).Dr. Elia Kwee Ortenberg (formerly: Femia) received her Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Before coming to…
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…
Dr. Jonathan Ivins serves as Chief of the Kidney, Urology, and Digestive Systems Review Branch (KUDS RB).Dr. Ivins received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After postdoctoral work at CalTech, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Irvine,…
Dr. Louis Rosenthal received his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on retrovirus-induced leukemogenesis and tumor immunology. After obtaining postdoctoral training in parasite immunology and cytokine signaling at Temple University and the Food and Drug…
Dr. Murali Ganesan received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of Madras, India. After his postdoctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he became an assistant professor of…
Dr. Uma Basavanna received her Ph.D. in biochemistry at University of Mysore, India where her graduate work was focused on characterizing snake venom toxins, along with testing and the production of antivenom therapeutics. She continued her postdoctoral trainings at the University of Maryland and…
Dr. Zheng Li received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Fudan University in China and had her postdoctoral training in radiochemistry at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH. She then took a faculty position at Houston Methodist Hospital, where she built the…
Dr. Jolanta Topczewska received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, and her postdoctoral training in developmental biology at Vanderbilt Medical Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Following this training, she accepted a…
Dr. Heidi Friedman received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Friedman began her career at NIH working on the epidemiology of AIDS in the Epidemiology and Biometry Branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).…
Dr. Schauwecker received her Ph.D. in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Southern California, where she studied age-dependent modulation of lesion-induced axonal sprouting and hippocampal synaptic plasticity. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of…
Dr. Raul Rojas received his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology and physiology at the School of Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh. There he investigated the role that small G proteins play in the regulation of vesicular trafficking and polarity establishment/maintenance in epithelial cells. He…
Dr. Richard Ingraham received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at the University of Iowa. His graduate work focused on biophysical aspects of skeletal muscle regulatory proteins. His post-doctoral work was at the University of Alberta and involved examination of additional aspects of muscle…
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. Aftab A. Ansari received his Ph.D. in biochemistry/immunology, then had postdoctoral training at the NIAID. His research interests include inflammatory diseases, asthma, allergy, autoimmunity, clinical immunology, clinical trials, immunogenetics, antigen presentation, T cells, and cytokines.…
Dr. Aleksey Kazantsev received his Ph.D. in biochemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; his mentor was Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Dr. Aziz Sancar. Dr. Kazantsev conducted his postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology…