Peer Review

NIH is simplifying review for most research project grants starting on January 25, 2025. The new framework aims to better facilitate identifying the strongest, highest-impact research.

We understand it can be quite stressful to hear NIH has withdrawn your submitted grant application before it went to peer review. In this NIH All About Grants podcast episode, we will get into why and how applications may be administratively withdrawn. Dr. Ray Jacobson, the Acting Director of the Division of Receipt and Referral at the Center for Scientific Review, walks us through the process.

Your application was submitted on time. the study section meeting is coming. But, you just got some new information that may be helpful for the application. Can you include it? Dr.

Your application was "not discussed." What does this actually mean? What should you do next?

We are discussing Not Discussed in this NIH All About Grants podcast episode. Dr. Gene Carstea, a Review Branch Chief at the Center for Scientific Review, will share insights on the NIH peer review process, how many applications are not discussed, reasons why, who to contact, appealing a not discussed decision, and much more.

Inclusion plans. You have questions. We have answers. NIH’s Inclusion Policy Officer Dawn Corbett covers inclusion plans during peer review and post-award in Part 2 of this NIH All About Grants podcast miniseries. Want to know what is scientifically appropriate as it relates to inclusion, and how reviewers are looking at it? What about the ins and outs on progress reporting? And if you have concerns about enrollment in your funded study, what should you do? Well, as a start, put on your earbuds and listen.

All About Grants is beginning a new series of episodes to help listeners understand how the NIH reviews the approximately 80,000 competing applications we receive each year. Learn what happens to your application once it arrives at NIH, including how it gets assigned to a study section. Dr. Suzanne Fisher, Director of the Division of Receipt and Referral, discusses this and more in “Who Receives Your Grant Application and What Do They Do With It?”

Dr. Alan Willard, Chief of the Scientific Review Branch at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who discusses what goes on during a study section meeting in “The Ins and Outs of a Study Section Meeting.”

Dr. David Armstrong, Chief of the Review Branch, and Dr. Mike Sesma, a Program Officer, both with the National Institute of Mental Health, who discuss what is included in the summary statement and give tips for finding out more information in “Summary Statement Basics.”

Taking a short break from our “preparing a successful application series,” we delve into when and why your budget might be cut. NIH recently announced across the board cuts for all our non-competing awards to meet our 2011 budget, but why do competing award budgets get reduced? Listen for more details.