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For many NIH funding opportunities, applicants have the option of including a PHS Assignment Request Form in their application to request assignment to a specific NIH Institute or Center (IC) and/or study section. This page provides information to help with the completion of those requests.
NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs)
Grant applicants can request assignment of their application to a specific NIH IC by including the IC acronym (e.g., NCI) in the Suggested Awarding Components field of the PHS Assignment Request Form. Before suggesting an IC, verify it is included in the Participating Components section of the funding opportunitiy. All requests are considered, but are not always honored.
See Find a Fit for Your Research: NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices for information on identifying relevant ICs and their mission areas and funding priorities. When an application is received by NIH and an IC assignment is made, the two-character Institute/Center Code is included in the application/grant number (e.g., CA in 1R01CA123456-01). Assignment details are available in eRA Commons.
| Acronym | Institute/Center Code | NIH Institute/Center |
|---|
CDC Centers, Institutes and Offices (CIOs)
| Acronym | Institute/Center Code | CDC Centers, Institutes and Offices |
|---|
Other Department of Health and Human Services Funding Components
With the exception of SBIR/STTR programs, applications assigned to the other Health and Human Services operating divisions will be reviewed by those operating divisions. See Section VII (Agency Contacts) section of the Funding Opportunity for additional information about these reviews.
| Acronym | Institute/Center Code | NIH Agency Partner |
|---|
IC vs CSR Review
Although the majority of NIH reviews are conducted by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), some applications are reviewed in-house at one of the NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs). In those cases, Section V.2 of the funding opportunity will indicate the IC convening the review. If no IC is named under “Review and Selection Process,” CSR will be reviewing your application. If your application is getting reviewed at an IC, the study section is pre-determined and you do not need to request a study section.
Center for Scientific Review (CSR) Study Sections and Special Emphasis Panels
For applications reviewed by CSR, grant applicants can request assignment of their application to a specific study section using the Suggested Study Sections field of the PHS Assignment Request Form. When making a request, include the study section code without hyphens, parentheses, or spaces (e.g., AIRT for the Anti-Infective Resistance and Targets study section or B10 for the Small Business: Biobehavioral Processes – BP (10) study section). All requests are considered, but are not always honored.
There are several ways to identify a potential study section.
- Search our listings of CSR Study Sections and Special Emphasis Panels and CSR Review Branches
- Take advantage of the Assisted Referral Tool (ART) and Matchmaker