Roles of NIH Staff

Program Officials

Develop research and research training initiatives

Write funding opportunity announcements

Provide scientific guidance to investigators pre- and post-award

Monitor the programmatic, scientific, and/or technical aspects of a grant

Work in partnership with grants management staff on post-award administration, including review of progress reports

To identify the right type of grant program and/or FOA for you and your research

To discuss the summary statement and outcome of review

For approval to submit an application with budget >$500,000 direct costs for any single year or an R13 conference grant

To discuss progress or scientific and administrative issues that arise with the grant after award

When exploring NIH:

Look at organization charts of each NIH institute or center (IC)

Search RePORTER for NIH funded grants on topics related to yours. The details tab for each grant has NIH program official contact information.

After finding an FOA:

Refer to section VII of the FOA for scientific/research contact

After application submission or award:

Look in your eRA account for the assigned program staff contact for your application

Scientific Review Officers

Review applications for completeness and conformance with application requirements

Ensure fair and unbiased evaluation of scientific and technical merit

Provide a summary of the evaluation in the form of summary statements for applicants

Point of contact for applicants during the review process to:

• discuss the review assignment
• request permission to send additional/corrective materials
• discuss any review concerns (e.g., expertise needed on you’re the review panel, conflicts, reviewers that may have bias)

After finding an FOA:

Refer to section VII of the FOA for review contact

After application submission:

Look in your eRA account for the name and contact information for the assigned scientific review officer for your application

Grants Management Officials

Evaluate applications for administrative content and compliance with policy

Negotiate Awards

Interpret grants administration policies

To discuss financial or grants administration issues

For interpretation of grants policies

After finding an FOA:

Refer to section VII for Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

After application submission and/or award:

Look in your eRA account for the name and contact information for the assigned grants management staff for your application

CSR Division of Receipt and Referral

If the initial assignment to an institute, center or review group seems inappropriate, the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) may request reassignment.

Make requests in writing to:

Division of Receipt and Referral
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Suite 2030, MSC 7720
Bethesda, MD 20892-7720

Or by fax to 301-480-1987