Review

Application Receipt and Referral

Learn what happens once your application is received by NIH, including how we determine which study section it will go to for peer review and how we assign it to an NIH institute, center, or office for funding consideration.

First Level: Peer Review

The first level of review is carried out by a scientific review group (SRG), also referred to as a study section, composed primarily of non-federal scientists who have expertise in relevant scientific disciplines and current research areas. The role of SRGs is to assess the overall impact that your proposed project (or resource, or training, or center, etc.) will likely have on the biomedical research field(s) involved. Learn more about how the first level of peer review works, scoring, roles, and more.

Second Level: Advisory Council Review

The second level of peer review is carried out by the funding Institute or Center's (IC) National Advisory Council, which considers the study section's results and determines the relevance of the applications to the IC's priorities and public health needs. The advisory council makes funding recommendations to the Institute or Center Director, who ultimately makes the funding decision.

After Review

If you receive a favorable review outcome, you may be asked to submit additional information. If you don't receive a favorable review outcome, reach out to your Program Official to discuss next steps.