Questions and Answers Table of Contents
When does CSR oversee initial peer review? When does NIAID? |
Does
CSR review applications responding to initiatives? |
Where can I find basic information about peer review? |
What
are "integrated review groups," "scientific
review groups," "study sections," "special
emphasis panels," and the "Center for Scientific Review"? |
How does NIH send reviewers applications? |
Who
are peer reviewers? |
If I respond to an NIAID program announcement, can I request a study section? |
Is study section membership confidential? |
Should I look at the roster before review, and what if I don't like an assignment? |
Can I recommend a reviewer I like? |
Will
most reviewers be experts in my field? |
What happens before a review meeting? |
Who does my R01 application "belong to"? |
Does NIH check my application to make sure it's complete? |
If I forget something, may I send it after the due date? |
Before
CSR conducts initial peer review, will NIAID program staff
have any contact with my application? |
How can I volunteer to serve on a review committee? |
If I'm serving as a member of an NIH study section while working on my own R01 application, must I submit my application by the standard receipt date? |
What if my question wasn't answered here, or I'd like to suggest a question? |
When does CSR oversee initial peer review? When does NIAID?
The Center
for Scientific Review oversees initial peer review for most investigator-initiated applications,
including single project R01 and
small business (SBIR and STTR)
applications.
NIAID oversees initial peer review for
most requests
for applications (RFA) and all request
for proposals (RFP), and a limited
set of investigator-initiated applications. For
example, if expertise is needed for large clinical trial groups,
NIAID
will conduct the review.
Essentially NIAID and CSR
conduct the same type of review. However, NIAID's practices
may vary subtly in some instances. In general, if you understand
how NIH CSR peer
review works, you'll also grasp the basics for NIAID peer
review.
To learn more about where applications
are reviewed, read:
For more information
about NIAID peer review, see NIAID
Program Project (P01) Applications questions and answers.
Does
CSR review applications responding to initiatives?
Yes.
CSR reviews
investigator-initiated applications, which include those
in response to program
announcements (PA). CSR occasionally
reviews applications responding to requests
for applications (RFAs) at
the request of an NIH institute.
For information about NIAID's review process,
see RFAs and NIAID's Peer
Review Process and RFAs, RFPs,
and PAs questions and answers.
Where can I find basic information about peer review?
Go to Initial Peer Review Assesses Scientific Merit and subsequent sections of the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
What are "integrated review groups," "scientific
review groups," "study sections," "special emphasis panels," and
the "Center for Scientific Review"?
Find descriptions in Who Peer Reviews Your Application?, and click on the blue glossary
terms integrated
review group, scientific
review group, study
section, special
emphasis panel, and Center
for Scientific Review to access the definitions in our NIAID
Glossary of Funding and Policy Terms and Acronyms.
How does NIH send reviewers applications?
See SROs Assess Completeness, Assign Reviewers.
Who are
peer reviewers?
They are your scientific peers from academia,
industry, and sometimes the federal government.
See Who Peer Reviews Your Application? For more information, see Will most reviewers be expert in my field?
If
I respond to an NIAID program announcement, can I request
a study section?
If NIH CSR is to review your application (the PA's number will appear as PA XX XXX), you can request a study section. If you don't request one, NIH will assign your application to the study section that is the best match.
If you have responded to a PAR (its
number will appear as PAR XX XXX), see the PAR to find out who is responsible
for conducting peer review.
Read more on this topic in Consider Requesting an Institute and Study Section in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Is study section membership confidential?
No. You can find CSR study
section rosters at CSR
Study Section Roster Index.
After the review, you will
get a roster with your summary statement. It
will not tell you which panel members were assigned as primary,
secondary,
and tertiary reviewers,
which is confidential information.
For NIAID, see
RFAs and NIAID's Peer
Review Process.
Should I look at the roster before review, and what if I don't like an assignment?
See Call If You Are Not Satisfied WIth a CSR Assignment in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
For answers to these and related questions, visit our General Application Information questions and answers
and read:
Also see Requesting a Study Section in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Can I recommend a reviewer I like?
No. Applicants are not permitted to suggest
reviewers. Read more in Requesting a Study Section in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Will most reviewers be experts
in my field?
Not necessarily. Peer review is generally
conducted by established panels of reviewers
with broad expertise. These panels may include some ad
hoc review members with expertise in relevant
areas of science. NIH may form
special
emphasis panels when one
or more applications require unique expertise.
For
details, read Who Peer Reviews Your Application? in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal and Will
most reviewers understand my science? on our Writing
a Great Grant Application questions and answers page.
What happens before a review meeting?
See the first few steps in Part 8. Assignment and Review of the NIH Grant Cycle.
Who does my R01 application "belong to"?
It belongs to CSR or
the institute that's
reviewing it.
Whether CSR or NIAID reviews your application, the
SRO is
your key contact until after initial
peer review. At that time, your application moves to an
NIAID program division, and
you call your program
officer with any questions. Go to Your Application Moves to NIAID.
To learn more about peer review at NIAID,
see RFAs and NIAID's Peer
Review Process.
Does NIH check my application to make sure it's complete?
Yes. When receiving an investigator-initiated application, CSR makes sure the key parts are there, such as the face page, budget
page, and checklists. Later, before the SRO sends your application
to reviewers, he or she looks at it more thoroughly to make sure
it's complete. See SROs Assess Completeness, Assign Reviewers.
If I forget something, may I send it after the due date?
If your application is incomplete, you can call the SRO whose name is in your eRA Commons account to
see if you can send additional information, or the SRO may contact
you so you may quickly
send in the required information.
It's
up to the SRO whether to accept late information. See You May Be Able to Send in Additional Data for details.
Before CSR conducts initial peer
review, will NIAID program staff have any contact with my application?
Yes. NIAID program staff act as resources
to SROs and
will become familiar with your application
so they can answer your questions. If
you respond to an RFA, NIAID will perform an administrative
check and review your application. To
learn more about NIAID peer review, go to RFAs
and NIAID's Peer Review Process and NIAID
Program Project (P01) Applications questions and answers.
How can I volunteer to serve on a review committee?
To find this information, see Thank
You Members of NIAID Peer Review Groups and Advisory Committees.
If I'm serving as a member of an NIH study section while working on my own R01 application, must I submit my application by the standard receipt date?
You may be able to apply continuously rather than wait for standard receipt dates depending on your study section and application type. Find eligibility requirements at Modified Application Submission, Referral and Review for Appointed NIH Study Section Members. Also see NIH's Continuous Submission FAQ and NIAID's Late Applications SOP.
What if my question wasn't answered here, or I'd like to suggest a question?
Email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. We answer questions by email and post them here. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base. |