Scientific Review Information for Applicants

Our mission: To ensure that grant applications are assessed for scientific and technical merit in fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews.

The Scientific Review Branch (SRB) at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) is responsible for the initial peer review of specific research grant applications assigned to NIA. These include contract proposals, applications for Research Centers, Program Projects, scientific meetings, and training and career development, and applications responding to notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) published by NIA.

External peer reviewers selected from the grant community participate in the reviews, and an overall impact/priority score is given for each grant application. Scores range from 10 (best) to 90 (worst). We produce an official document (Summary Statement) for each reviewed application. Scores and Summary Statements are used by Program Division Staff and NIA Council in making final funding decisions. Scores for applications reviewed by the NIA SRB will be released within 2 business days after the review meeting. Summary statements for applications reviewed by the NIA SRB will be available 6 weeks after the review meeting and no later than 30 days before the Advisory Council meeting. Applicants can access their summary statement through the Status Module in the eRA Commons.

Where will my grant application be reviewed? Center for Scientific Review (CSR)? NIA SRB?

Types of Grant Applications Reviewed in CSR:

Mostly investigator initiated research projects (R01), exploratory/developmental research grants (R21), and small research projects (R03), submitted in response to parent announcements (PA, PAR, PAS), and some RFA/NOFOs.

Types of Grant Applications Reviewed in the SRB:

Career Development Awards (K01, K02, K07, K08, K23, K24, K25, K99/R00); Clinical Trials (R01, R34); Conferences and Scientific Meetings (R13/U13); Dissertation Awards (R36); Research Resources (R24/U24); P01 revisions; some cooperative agreements (U01); some multi-site R01s; and some NOFOs. These are reviewed mostly in NIA's Chartered Review Committees.

Program Projects (P01); Pepper Centers (Geriatrics); Roybal Centers (Translational Research); Nathan Shock Centers (Basic Biology); Beeson Career Development Awards; Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs); Demography Centers; Institutional Research Training grants (T32); large clinical trials; multicenter cooperative agreements (U01); some multi-site R01s; most NOFOs. These are reviewed mostly in NIA Special Emphasis Panels (SEPs).

Chartered Review Committees at NIA:

The four chartered/standing review committees meet three times per year to review selected application types. Each committee member serves a 4-year term.

• AGCD 1 Career Development Facilitating the Transition to Independence

  • SRO: Joshua Park, Ph.D. will review K99/R00 applications

• AGCD 2 Career Development for Early Career Investigators

  • SRO: Carmen Moten, Ph.D., MPH. will review K01 applications

• AGCD 3 Career Development for Clinicians/Health Professionals

  • SRO: Maurizio Grimaldi, MD., Ph.D. will review K08, K23 and K24 applications

• AGCD 4 Career Development for Established Investigators and Conference Grants

  • SRO: Greg Bissonette, Ph.D. will review K02, K07, K22, K25, R36 and R/U13 applications

Special Emphasis Panels (SEPs):

Special emphasis Panels are constituted specifically to review applications that have been received in response to an RFA or other Institute specific grant mechanisms. Reviewers are recruited typically for a single meeting. The SRB conducts over 100 SEPs per year.

What is the timeline for the review of my application?

Each year there are three rounds of review (January, May, and October).

NIH Standard due dates and timeline

NIA List of Funding Opportunities

The Review Process:

A step-by-step description of scientific peer review at the NIH

NIH Peer Review Revealed (video)

Upcoming Review Meetings:

Special Emphasis Panels (SEPs) conducted by the SRB