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Scientific Review

NCATS' Scientific Review carries out fair, objective and appropriate peer review of NCATS grant applications and contract proposals. Review staff also cooperate on the development of notices of funding opportunities and provide advice to colleagues in support of NCATS programs.

Scientific Review at NCATS

  • Receive applications and contract proposals and assign them to Special Emphasis Panels for peer review.
  • Determine the expertise needed to review specific grant applications and contract proposals, determine institutional and individual conflicts of interest (COIs) for each application, and identify and recruit reviewers with appropriate expertise who do not have exclusionary COIs.
  • Administer peer review according to NIH policy and practice, including adherence to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and the Procurement Integrity Act (PIA).
  • Assign appropriate NIH human subjects and vertebrate animals codes to applications, and enter codes and scores into the central NIH database.
  • Prepare high-quality summary statements and technical evaluation reports for applications and proposals, respectively.
  • Serve as a resource to peer reviewers and staff by providing advice on review policy issues and the planning of new initiatives.
  • Work in collaboration with the Division of Receipt and Referral in the NIH Center for Scientific Review and the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER).

Peer Review at NCATS

Have you recently applied for an NCATS grant? Check out OER’s Applicant Guidance: Next Steps, including frequently asked questions. The OER website also offers a detailed look at the NIH peer-review process.

Last updated on January 10, 2024