Speedier NIH review of research applicatio...( The National Institutes of Health (NIH)...)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced a pilot effort to significantly shorten its peer reviews of research grant applications--so scientists can get on with their research sooner, to the public's benefit. This pilot rose from a growing concern that the current grant review process takes too long and is hindering the careers of promising researchers and the advancement of science and health.

The pilot will help one of the most promising but vulnerable groups of researchers: new investigators applying for their first major NIH grant, an R01 grant. R01 grants totaling about $10 billion support many of the best biomedical researchers at universities and medical centers across the country.

"This pilot illustrates our efforts for optimizing all facets of the research review and funding process across NIH. I am particularly pleased that the pilot phase will be focused on new investigators who are the most vulnerable in times of budgetary constraints and often do not have the resources to withstand long review cycles," said NIH Director, Elias Zerhouni, M.D. "Shortened review cycles will benefit researchers and scientific institutions nationwide--and the public awaiting medical advances."

The new director of the Center for Scientific Review, Toni Scarpa, M.D., Ph.D., added, "The scientific world moves fast, and we must keep up with it. We plan to use new electronic and management tools while preserving the rigor and fairness of NIH peer review, so we can identify the most promising medical research more rapidly. Our goal is to reduce the grant review process by half."

NIH's Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will initiate the pilot in February in 40 of its scientific review panels, offering quicker reviews to new investigators who need to resubmit revised applications for their first R01 grant. This shortened process and delayed resubmission deadlines will allow researchers able to readily address reviewer concerns to
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Contact: Don Luckett
luckettd@nih.gov
301-435-1111
NIH/Center for Scientific Review
5-Dec-2005

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