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.
I've read the definitions of Significance and Overall Impact but the two still seem rather similar. Can you provide some additional guidance?
When determining the Overall Impact score, should it equal the arithmetic mean of the scores for the scored review criteria?
Is it possible for an…
Dr. Kristen Prentice received her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she studied the effects of healthy aging and traumatic brain injury on human cognition. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the…
Dr. Kristin Kramer received her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Minnesota, completed postdoctoral training at both the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She then served as an assistant professor in…
Dr. Latha Malaiyandi received her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where her dissertation investigated the role of toxic heavy metals in neuronal injury models. She joined the biology faculty at Francis Marion University, a small liberal arts institution…
Dr. Linda Jurata received her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego, where she studied interactions between transcription factors and transcription mediators in the context of vertebrate development. During her NIH-supported postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk…
Dr. Manzoor A. Zarger received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology, and conducted his postdoctoral studies at Thomas Jefferson University, where he was at the forefront of apoptosis research discovering various caspases, death receptors, and anti-apoptotic molecules, and their roles in…
Dr. Maqsood Wani serves as Chief of the Cell and Developmental Biology Review Branch (CDB RB).
Dr. Maqsood Wani received his Ph.D. at the Ohio State University and did his postdoctoral work at the University of Cincinnati where he was also a new investigator in Program of Excellence in Molecular…
Dr. Maria Cardenas-Corona joined CSR following her retirement as a research professor emeritus of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine. During her academic career, her studies focused on the elucidation of the mechanism of action of the anti-cancer,…
Dr. Balasundaram has previously served as the SRO for the Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Structure/Function and Dynamics Study Section (NCSD), and the Intercellular Interactions Study Section (ICI). In addition to his SRO duties, he serves as a Referral Officer in CSR’s Division of Receipt and Referral.…
Dr. Bhattacharyya is the director of the Division of Planning, Analysis, and Information Management (DPAIM), which comprises three branches: Information Technology Services and Solutions Branch (ITSS); Analysis, Informatics, and Automation Branch (AIA); and the Strategic Planning and Implementation…
Dr. Dmitri Gnatenko holds a Ph.D. degree in molecular biology from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. His postdoctoral studies at the Division of Hematology of Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine focused on gene therapy approaches…
Dr. Bryan Crenshaw earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied the role of transcription factors in the development of the pituitary and brain. After postdoctoral training at UCSD, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in the Departments…
Dr. Angela Boutte earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University, where she conducted research detailing cytoskeletal dynamics in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). As a research fellow at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Boutte defined myeloid cell proteomes and…
Dr. Aruna Behera received her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from Delhi University, India, and did her postdoctoral training at the Division of Allergy and Immunology, University of South Florida, where she examined the molecular pathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Her…
Dr. Bakary Drammeh received his Dr P.H. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and post-doctoral fellowship training in vaccine safety at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to joining CSR, he was a health scientist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
Dr. Santanu Banerjee received his Ph.D. in life sciences from Bose Institute, Calcutta, India and did a brief postdoctoral training at University of Rochester Medical Center (NY), working on the role of transcription factors on T-cell differentiation. From there, he to Massachusetts General…
Dr. Sarita Sastry received her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she studied the role of integrins in muscle differentiation. She completed her post-doctoral work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where she studied the regulation of protein…
Dr. Simone Chebabo Weiner obtained a Ph.D. in biophysics/physiology from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has a background in pharmacy. During her graduate training, she studied the role of GABA and glutamate in brain edema excitability, using electrophysiological recordings.…
Dr. Wenyan Han received her Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China, where she studied neuropeptides and drug addiction. She then completed postdoctoral research training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the National Institute of…
Dr. Yingli Fu received her Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. She completed her post-doctoral training in radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to her role at CSR, Dr. Fu was an assistant professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins…
Dr. Wenjuan Wang received her Ph.D. in population and reproductive health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Before joining CSR, she worked as the deputy director of research for the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program at ICF in Rockville, MD. While there, Dr. Wang…
Dr. June Gin received a Ph.D. in resource policy and behavior from the University of Michigan's School of Environment and Sustainability, focusing on environmental sociology. Before joining CSR, she was a research health scientist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Emergency…
Dr. Lisa Steele serves as Chief of the Epidemiology and Population Health Review Branch (EPH RB).Dr. Lisa Steele received her Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University with an emphasis on CD8 T cell responses to microbial pathogens. Following her graduate work, she entered CDC as a CDC/APHL…
Dr. Brittany Mason-Mah received her Ph.D. in psychiatry from King’s College London, working in both the Institute of Psychiatry and the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, with an emphasis on physiology and blood-brain barrier regulation. She then completed postdoctoral training in preclinical and…
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…