The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is known as the 鈥済ateway鈥� for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications. Expert peer review groups鈥攁lso called study sections鈥攆ormed by the CSR assess more than 75% of the thousands of research grant applications sent to the NIH each year. The work done by these sections ensures each application gets a fair, impartial and thorough evaluation for scientific merit and promise, and that funding is awarded without any inappropriate influence.
Accomplishing that feat every year requires extensive time, dedication and expertise, and in the NIH鈥檚 own wording, only those who have 鈥渄emonstrated competence and achievement in [their] scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of [their] research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors,鈥� are invited to take part.
Carlos Casta帽eda (left) and Jessica MacDonald
Two associate professors of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, 听补苍诲听, joined their ranks beginning this summer, having accepted standing memberships in the聽 and the , respectively.
A standing membership represents a significant commitment of professional time and dedicated energy鈥攐ne that can be tricky to balance with teaching and research workloads. A member typically spends several weeks reviewing 10 to twelve applications of 60-100 pages each before each meeting, and then prepares a detailed written report and presentation in order to discuss the application with the rest of the committee. Casta帽eda accepted a six-year appointment, with a commitment to join two of the section鈥檚 three meetings each year; MacDonald鈥檚 membership is for four years, meeting three times each year.
In return for that commitment, of course, the work promises significant rewards鈥攊n the opportunity to contribute to the nation鈥檚 biomedical research efforts, while raising the research profile of 黑料不打烊 as an institution as well as advancing the professors鈥� own scientific goals.
鈥淚鈥檝e often found that evaluating and reading grants lets you see what鈥檚 happening at the edge of science,鈥� says Casta帽eda, who joined the 黑料不打烊 faculty in 2014, appointed jointly to the departments of biology and chemistry after earning a Ph.D. in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University and doing postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland College Park. 鈥淸It鈥檚 useful to see] what are new and up-and-coming techniques, and to track where the field is going and what is pushing the next set of scientific questions.鈥�
The section that he is a part of is unique in that it exclusively reviews聽聽grants, which fall within the purview of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and provide funding for laboratories doing broad-based biomedical research. 鈥淎 lot of basic science grants are reviewed at that institute,鈥� Casta帽eda says. 鈥淢y [section] is focused on biochemistry and biophysics, such as understanding how proteins and other macromolecules work.鈥�
MIRA grants are intended to fund a lab for a period of five years, for both established and new- or early-stage investigators. Introduced in 2016, the MIRA program was created to provide funding stability, greater flexibility and higher acceptance rates than more typical R01 project grants. There has been a shift within NIGMS to this model, with an increasing number of MIRA grants funded each year.
MacDonald鈥檚 standing membership in the DBD Study Section, which reviews grant applications to study the factors that lead to abnormal brain development and function, dovetails with her own work focusing on how disruptions in genetic and epigenetic mechanisms cause neurodevelopmental and cognitive disorders. The applications reviewed investigate a mix of pre-clinical research on brain development and clinical studies involving human patients.
Before joining the 黑料不打烊 faculty in 2015, MacDonald was a postdoctoral fellow in stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University; she earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of British Columbia.
While the specific grants she reviews fall into her areas of expertise, every member of the section sees and hears the details of each application presented. 鈥淚t gives me a very different perspective on the research,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y lab is a basic research lab focused on understanding mechanisms of brain development and disorders. Participating in this study section allows me to better understand how to translate our research into clinical studies.鈥�
Both professors have been recipients of NIH funding themselves: MacDonald a聽聽from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke supporting her ongoing research into Rett Syndrome; Casta帽eda a聽 enabling him and his team to investigate the underlying cell mechanisms linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig鈥檚 disease). As a pragmatic advantage, they note that participating in the review process helps them to gain a better understanding about what makes a successful grant application鈥攚isdom they can share with their colleagues.
鈥淚t鈥檚 helpful in the sense that [reading grants] helps you write grants,鈥� Casta帽eda says. 鈥淵ou can see the best way to tell a story. And as we learn what works and doesn鈥檛 work, we can tell other people here at [黑料不打烊]. Hopefully that will raise everyone鈥檚 research profiles.鈥�
Story by Laura Wallis
