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Dr. Antonio Scarpa
CSR Director | |
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Our Mission
The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is the portal for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific merit. We organize the peer review groups or study sections that evaluate the majority (70%) of the research grant applications sent to NIH. We also receive all grant applications for NIH, as well as for some other components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Since 1946, our mission has remained clear and timely: to see that NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews -- free from inappropriate influences -- so NIH can fund the most promising research.
The Power of Peer Review
CSR receives nearly 80,000 applications a year and recruits over 17,000 external experts to review its portion of them in its study sections, which often meet three times during the year. Additional scientists serve on other NIH advisory councils, which provide a second level of peer review and make funding recommendations based on priorities set by Congress, DHHS, and the public. For nearly 60 years, this peer review system has enabled NIH to fund cutting-edge research that has allowed millions to leave their doctor’s office with new drugs and cures for diseases that killed their parents or grandparents.
Challenges and Changes
To keep these advances coming, we must be aligned with the growth and expanding complexities of scientific research as well as increases in new research applications. CSR is initiating new efforts with the following goals:
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Shorten the review process so applicants can revise and resubmit their applications in the next review round if necessary and NIH can more timely fund the best research. Shortening the review process by 45 days could thus reduce the time to resubmit by 4 months.
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Recruit and retain the best reviewers so NIH and applicants receive the best advice.
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Foster a culture more favorable to innovative applications, so that NIH can fund research that promises larger advances in science and health.
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Address the concern that clinical research is not properly evaluated, so this important research is well represented in the NIH program and we can discover more ways to treat, cure, and prevent disease.
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Increase the transparency, accountability, and uniformity of NIH peer review, so we can effectively and efficiently achieve our goals.
Progress reports on these efforts are now posted on our Initiatives Web page.
Productive Partnerships
The power that drives NIH is found in the collective efforts of people who submit, review, and administer NIH grant applications. Making the NIH peer review system more effective requires the involvement of all stakeholders, and we are reaching out to inform and involve as many of them as possible.
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