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.
What should be considered in the Overall Impact score for fellowship (F) applications?
How will the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Plan be reviewed?
Where can a fellowship applicant find the review criteria and who determines which applications get approved for funding?
What should be…
The Power of Peer Review
Our peer review system has enabled NIH to fund fundamental, cutting-edge research that years later led to new treatments which have allowed millions to leave their doctor’s office with new drugs and cures for diseases that afflicted their parents or grandparents.
70% of…
Dr. Miriam Mintzer received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology (human memory and cognition) from New York University, Dr. Mintzer received postdoctoral training in the human behavioral pharmacology of substance abuse in the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,…
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…
Ms. Lynch leads the center’s ethics program. She oversees a staff of ethics professionals who are the first line of contact for employees. Ms. Lynch works with both employees and supervisors to ensure employee compliance with ethics rules, regulations, and policies, and the prevention or…
Dr. James Li received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he then started his professional career as a senior medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry working on preclinical drug discovery programs involving pain management, anti-inflammatory,…
After receiving his Ph.D. in physics in the area of structural biology from the University of Oregon, Dr. Jacobson carried out postdoctoral training in the Molecular and Cell Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He then went on to the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer…
Dr. Zhao is the Scientific Review Officer for the Gastrointestinal Mucosal Pathobiology Study Section within the Digestive, Kidney and Urological Systems Integrated Review Groups. After receiving his graduate degrees, Dr. Zhao had postdoctoral training in the Department of Medicine at Uniformed…
Dr. Alexander Gubin came to this position after participating in CSR's Review Internship Program. Before that, he was an ORISE Fellow at Food and Drug Administration, where he worked in Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Laboratory of Developmental Biology. After receiving his Ph.D. in…
Dr. Erica Spears trained as an interdisciplinary scientist whose research focused on chronic disease prevention and health behaviors in historically marginalized populations. Dr. Spears earned her Doctor of Philosophy in health education from Texas A&M University. She completed her postdoctoral…
Using the ECR Application and Vetting System (EAVS) you can enroll or update your information. ECRs remain in the program until they no longer meet the criteria. For example, if you have been accepted into the program but receive an R01, you will be removed from our database of ECRs even if you…
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. Dolores Arjona earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry at the Universidad Autonoma of Madrid in Spain. She subsequently completed her postdoctoral training at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Neuro-Oncology Branch at NCI. Her main research efforts were focused on…
Dr. Anna Riley received her Ph.D. in sociology from Washington State University. Her training is in social psychology, mental health, and gerontology. She came to CSR as an SRO intern from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, where she was a postdoctoral research fellow…
Dr. Joshua Powell received his M.S. in genetics and his Ph.D. in microbiology from Oregon State University. As a molecular virologist for 18 years in academia, industry and government, Dr. Powell’s research expertise spans both basic and applied research themes focused on human pathogens. Before…
Dr. Michael Bloom’s career began at the Jackson Laboratory, where he completed his Ph.D. thesis in hematology and genetics. After leaving Maine, he was a postdoctoral fellow and staff scientist at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute intramural program where he studied aplastic anemia and…
Dr. Willard Wilson received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, where he studied auditory neurophysiology. After postdoctoral training, he moved to industry, where he directed SBIR-funded research and development on hardware and software products for neurophysiology research…
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. Anne-Sophie Wattiez received a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from the Université d’Auvergne in France, then trained at the University of Iowa on a John J. Bonica fellowship before starting her independent research in a joint position between the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Veterans…
Dr. Christine DiDonato received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University. She did two postdoctoral training periods in Canada. First at Hospital Ste. Justine Research Center in Montréal, Québec, and then at Ottawa Health Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario where she gained…
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. Weihua Luo received his Ph.D. in medical oncology from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom and obtained his M.D. from Shanghai Second Medical University in China, where he worked as a surgeon as well as a cancer research scientist. Dr. Luo had postdoctoral training in the University…
Dr. Steven Ripp received his Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular genetics at Oklahoma State University and thereafter completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Tennessee (UT)-Knoxville under an Alexander Hollaender Postdoctoral Fellowship. He remained at UT-Knoxville for 20 years,…
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. Karine Jegalian received her Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she used molecular biology techniques to study the evolution of gene pairs on the mammalian X and Y chromosomes. She worked as a science writer for the National Human Genome Research Institute…