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. Wing-Hang Tong obtained her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied the mechanism of the assembly of the tyrosyl radical-diiron (III) cofactor of E. coli ribonucleotide reductase using biophysical methods. As a postdoctoral fellow at the…
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. 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…
Dr. Kathryn Koeller is an Associate Director in the Division of Receipt and Referral and the Research Integrity Officer at the Center for Scientific Review.
Prior to assuming this position, she was a Scientific Review Officer in the Biological and Macromolecular Biophysics Integrated Review Group…
Dr. Kenneth A. Roebuck received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and San Diego State University, where he studied the transcriptional regulation of small nuclear RNA genes. As a postdoctoral fellow at UCSD, Dr. Roebuck began research on HIV gene…
Dr. Lai Yee Leung received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Wayne State University, and continued her post-doctoral training at the Center for Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) under the National Research Council Research Associateship Program. At…
Dr. Lauren Penney is an anthropologist and implementation scientist. She received a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Arizona, where she also conducted post-doctoral research on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster with funding from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and,…
Dr. Marcus Ferrone received his PharmD. degree in nuclear medicine/pharmacy from the University of Tennessee after completing his undergraduate and graduate studies in synthetic organometallic chemistry at Emory University. Dr. Ferrone completed his clinical residency at Columbus Regional Medical…
Dr. Richard Schneiderman received his Ph.D. in immunology from The University of Illinois, Chicago, where he studied cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating immunoglobulin A expression and function. He completed postdoctoral training in retroviral biology and gene therapy initially at Genetic…
Dr. Sung-Wook Jang received his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from University of Wisconsin-Madison with his interest in Schwann cell myelination whose defects are known to be associated with many human diseases including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Subsequently, Dr. Jang had postdoctoral…
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. 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…
Dr. Pantazatos received his Ph.D in biomedical sciences from the University of California San Diego, California. During his T32 fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Pantazatos investigated conformational dynamics of protein membrane interactions using Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass…
Dr. Jessica M. Smith came to CSR from the Common Fund within the NIH Office of the Director, where she served as a scientific program analyst. She provided scientific expertise and analytical skills to facilitate review for Other Transaction Authority (OTA) awards, program management, strategic…
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…
Dr. Alexei Yeliseev received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. He then trained in enzymology as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at Philipps University in Marburg, Germany, in molecular biology at Cambridge University, UK, and in microbiology and molecular…
Dr. Altaf Dar received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany. Following postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University and University of California, San Francisco, he joined California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC). Dr. Dar worked as an Associate Professor…
Dr. Aurea Sousa has a technical background in Chemistry and early career experience in bench-to-pilot-to-implementation of biological solutions to environmental problems emerging in petroleum stations throughout Brazil (CENPES/DITER/SEBIO). Dr. Sousa holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry (Universidade de…
Dr. Barbara Mallon received her D.Phil. in biochemistry at the University of York, UK, where she studied signal transduction in glial cells. She then went to the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she completed her postdoctoral training in its department of…
Dr. Raquel Velazquez-Kronen earned her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. She completed a predoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, where she evaluated health risks associated with occupational radiation exposures. Prior to joining CSR…
Dr. Tina Tang received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program jointly hosted by the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and the NIH Intramural Program. She conducted her graduate research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke studying…
Dr. Vanessa Sherk received her Ph.D. in exercise physiology from the University of Oklahoma. She received post-doctoral training at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where she focused on how nutrition affects bone metabolism. During that time, Dr. Sherk was also an assistant…
Dr. Wei-Qin Zhao serves as Chief of the Aging and Neurodegeneration Review Branch (AN RB).
Dr. Wei-Qin Zhao received her medical training from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences in China, and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from LaTrobe University in Australia. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow…
Dr. Yanming Bi received her Ph.D. in bone biology from Case Western University, School of Medicine. Her graduate work on orthopaedic implant loosening received the William Harris Award for outstanding research related to the hip and the Kappa Delta Award for excellence in orthopaedic research.…