1. NIH Peer Review Process – Grant Renewal
Angela Y Ng, MBA, PhD
Scientific Review and Referral Officer
Center for Scientific Review
NCI DCB New Grantee Workshop
March 18, 2015

2. National Institutes of Health
Office of the Director
National Institute
on Aging
National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism
National Institute
of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
National Institute
of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases
National Cancer
Institute
Eunice Kennedy
Shriver National Institute
of Child Health and
Human Development
National Institute on
Deafness and Other
Communication
Disorders
National Institute
of Dental and
Craniofacial
Research
National Institute
of Diabetes and
Digestive and
Kidney Diseases
National Institute
on Drug Abuse
National Institute
of Environmental
Health Sciences
National Eye
Institute
National Institute
of General
Medical Sciences
National Heart,
Lung, and Blood
Institute
National Human
Genome Research
Institute
National Institute
of Mental Health
National Institute
of Neurological
Disorders and
Stroke
National Institute
of Nursing Research
National Institute of
Biomedical Imaging
and Bioengineering
National Center
for Complementary
and Alternative
Medicine
John E. Fogarty
International
Center
National Center
for Advancing
Translational Research
National Library
of Medicine
National Institute on
Minority Health and
Health Disparities
Clinical Center
Center for
Information
Technology
Center for
Scientific Review

3. NIH Peer Review System for Grant Applications
First Level of Review
Scientific Review Group
(Study Section)
Second Level of Review
NIH Institute/Center Council

4. CSR Peer Review – Fiscal Year 2014
86,000 applications received
16,000 reviewers
237 Scientific Review Officers
1,500 review meetings

5. Electronic Application Process
Prepare to Apply & Register
Find Opportunity
Prepare Application
Submit, Track & View
Register with Grants.gov & eRA Commons
Submit in response to Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)
Submit via your organizational representative
Use eRA Commons to view & track
Follow Application Guide & Instructions

6. Help Your Application Get to the Right Study Section

7. Help Your Application Get to the Right Institute
Match your application to NIH:
Projects: related research on the same scientific topic
FOAs: Funding Opportunity Announcements for the topic area
Institutes: Programs that are funding research in this topic area

8. Cover Letter
The cover letter should be used for a number of important purposes:
Suggest Institute/Center assignment
Suggest review assignment
Identify individuals in potential conflict and explain why
Identify areas of expertise needed to evaluate the application
Discuss any special situations
It is NOT appropriate to use the cover letter to suggest specific reviewers.

9. Role of the Scientific Review Officer
Designated Federal Official with overall responsibility for the review process
Performs administrative review of applications to ensure completeness and accuracy
Selects reviewers based on broad input
Manages study section meetings
Prepares summary statements

10. Review Criteria Overall Impact
Assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved
Core Review Criteria
Significance
Investigator(s)
Innovation
Approach
Environment
Review criteria each scored from 1-9

11. 9-Point Scoring Scale Impact Score Descriptor High Impact 1
Exceptional 2
Outstanding 3
Excellent
Medium Impact 4
Very Good 5
Good 6
Satisfactory
Low Impact 7
Fair 8
Marginal 9
Poor

12. For Renewal R01 Application
Review includes:
The application as submitted, including
Progress Report ( in “Approach” )&
Progress Report Publication List ( Attachment )

13. Additional Criteria Contribute to Overall Impact Scores
Protections for human subjects
Inclusions of women, minorities, and children
Appropriate use of vertebrate animals
Management of biohazards

14. Other Considerations that Do Not Affect Overall Impact Scores
Resource Sharing Plans:
Data
Model Organisms
Genomic Data (Human and nonhuman)
Foreign Organizations
Select Agents
Budget

15. NIH’s Resubmission Policy
After an unsuccessful new (A0) application or an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, you may submit a new (A0) application with the same idea as long as your summary statement has been issued.
NIH Guide Notices
NOT-OD
NOT-OD
Resubmission FAQs

16. Your New Application Must Be Written as New
Your new (A0) application should not contain information that might bias the review or provide a competitive advantage:
You Cannot Refer to a Previous Review
No mention of previous score
No mention of previous reviewer comments
No mention of how the A0 is responsive to previous review
No marks in text to indicate changes
You Cannot Submit Elements of a Renewal
No Progress Report
No Progress Report Publication List

17. NIH Will Not Accept
An A0 or A1 application that overlaps a funded application
Simultaneous submissions of overlapping applications
An A0 or A1 application before NIH issues the summary statement of an earlier, overlapping application.

18. Recent NIH New Policies
NOT-OD : Genomic Data Sharing Policy (effective Jan 25, 2015) (NOT-OD : reminder)
NOT-OD : Modification on Marking Changes in Resubmission Applications (effective Dec 4, 2014)
NOT-OD : New Biosketch Format Required After May 25, 2015
NOT-OD : Late Submission Policy (uniform 2 weeks of consideration for all types of applications; with some RFAs or PARs specific exception in which NOT-OD applies)

19. When Preparing an Application
Read instructions
Never assume that reviewers will know what you mean
Refer to pertinent literature
Don’t overstate the significance of your research
State rationale of proposed investigation
Include well-designed tables and figures
Present an organized, lucid write-up
Don’t be overly ambitions
Obtain pre-review from colleagues at your organization
Insider’s Guide to Peer Review for Applicants:

20. What Reviewers Look for in Applications
Significance and impact
Exciting ideas
Clarity
Ideas they can understand -- Don’t assume too much
Realistic aims and timelines -- Don’t be overly ambitious
Brevity with things that everybody knows
Noted limitations of the study
A clean, well-written application
In thinking upon what one of your peers might generally look for as a reviewer of an application keep the following practical ideas in mind:
Insider’s Guide to Peer Review for Applicants:

21. View the Videos http://www.csr.nih.gov/video/video.asp
NIH Peer Review Revealed
Jumpstart Your Research Career with CSR’s Early Career Reviewer Program
NIH Tips for Applicants
What Happens to Your NIH Grant Application

22. Meet the Experts in NIH Peer Review Webinars
For Researchers Seeking:
R01 Grants
Fellowship Awards
AREA/R15 Grants
Small Business Grants

23. Early Career Reviewer Program
Train and educate qualified scientists to become critical and well-trained reviewers
Expose investigators to the peer review experience to help make them more competitive as applicants
Enrich the existing pool of NIH reviewers
Information available at