NIH Grants Process Walk-Through for Beginners

Ms. Sheri Cummins is a Communications Strategist with the NIH Office of Extramural Research’s Division of Communication and Outreach. She is recognized in the community for her active involvement with applicant institutions, knowledge level of the NIH grants process, and enthusiasm for sharing and helping teach. Ms. Cummins joined NIH in 2008 as a Customer Relationship Manager for the electronic Research Administration (eRA) program focusing on eRA’s external services including eRA Commons and Electronic Application Submission. While working in eRA, she led many projects including the implementation of NIH's web-based ASSIST system for grant application preparation and submission. In 2013, she moved to the Division of Communications and Outreach for the NIH Office of Extramural Research where she is responsible for grants process communications and outreach.

Prior to coming to NIH, she worked for GE Global Exchange Services for 13 years in various roles including people and project management, communications, customer support, and client advocacy. She was also the owner/operator of a small retail business. Ms. Cummins is an alumna of the University of Maryland, where she received a B.S. in Computer Science.

Ms. Cynthia Dwyer serves as the Outreach Coordinator within the NIH Office of Extramural Research’s Division of Communications and Outreach. She is often recognized for her work as the Coordinator of the NIH Virtual Grants Conferences on Program Funding and Grants Administration. In addition, she is responsible for coordinating other OER outreach activities and the development of resources for the extramural research community.

Ms. Dwyer began her career with NIH in 2000 as a Grants Management Specialist for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where she served for five years. In 2005, she moved to the NIH Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA) where she served as a Grants Policy Officer before joining OER’s communications office. Ms. Dwyer obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Texas, her teaching degree from the University of Missouri-St Louis, and her Master of Arts in School Administration from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Prior to her career with the NIH, Ms. Dwyer taught grade school, wrote grants for her school district, served as a regional customer service trainer and manager for a major retail chain, and published a travel magazine of Central Missouri.

Kasima Garst is the Deputy Director of the Division of Grants Systems Integration (DGSI) within in the OER’s Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA). Prior to her appointment as Deputy Director, she was a Systems Policy Analyst within DGSI’s Systems Policy Branch. She represents NIH on systems policy initiatives at the HHS and Federal-wide levels and works with key NIH stakeholders to ensure successful implementation of critical systems, policies, and compliance requirements across the NIH. Prior to joining OPERA in 2019, Mrs. Garst was a Grants Management Officer at the NIH Fogarty International Center and a Grants Management Specialist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Middlebury College and a Master of Forensic Sciences degree in Forensic Molecular Biology from the George Washington University.

Ms. Emily Linde is the Director of the Grants Management Program for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She has been in grants management at the National Institutes of Health for over 20 years. Prior to joining NIAID, Linde worked at several other institutes, including the Office of the Director (OD) where she served in the Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA); the National Cancer Institute (NCI); and the Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

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 clinical laboratories at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, gaining experience in food reward neurocircuitry and pathophysiology of mental illnesses, primarily Major Depressive Disorder. Her translational research work includes animal models of behavior, transgenic techniques, pharmaceutical interventions, and gut microbiome interactions. She led blood-based biomarker work on multisite clinical trial teams for both National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute of Drug Abuse funded projects. Prior to joining CSR, she was an assistant professor of psychiatry and the National Project Director of a Clinical Trials Network (CTN)-NIDA multisite clinical trial investigating an injectable pharmacological intervention for methamphetamine use disorder and opioid co-use.

Michael Sesma, Ph.D., is chief of the Postdoctoral, Early Career and Workforce Development programs Branch in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD) at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. In this role, Dr. Sesma oversees programs for research training opportunities for postdoctoral, early career faculty and programs and research in biomedical research workforce development. Dr. Sesma is also the program officer for the Circadian Biology research grant portfolio in the Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

Dr. Sesma began his NIH career at NIGMS in 1994 as a scientific review administrator in the Office of Scientific Review and as a program director in the institute’s Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology. In 2002, he moved to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where he was chief of the Research Scientist Development Program in the Office for Special Populations. He returned to NIGMS in 2012 as a branch chief in TWD.

Dr. Sesma earned his B.A. in biology and psychology from the University of California, San Diego, and the Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside. He conducted postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining NIH, Sesma served on the faculty at the University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Optometry and the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine.

Dr. Michelle M. Timmerman is the Associate Director/Guide Liaison Officer at the Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR) at CSR.

Prior to joining DRR, she served in the Office of Extramural Research as the Acting Director and Guide Policy Officer of the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts. She also served as Director of the AREA (R15) Program, which supports student-driven research at small colleges and universities. Prior to that, Dr. Timmerman served as a Scientific Review Officer at NIAID, where she managed the review of career development awards and training grants by the MID standing committee, in addition to managing the review of research grants, contracts, and complex mechanisms in Special Emphasis Panels. Dr. Timmerman began her federal career as a regulatory reviewer of sterile drug manufacturing at the Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Timmerman earned her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted postdoctoral research in bacterial pathogenesis at the University of Iowa.