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Press release
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Today, the National Institutes of Health announced plans to centralize peer review of all applications for grants, cooperative agreements, and research and development contracts within the agency's Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The proposed approach is expected to save more than $65 million annually by eliminating duplicative efforts across the agency, making the review process more efficient.
“At NIH, we are working to optimize our resources to support the best science,” said NIH Acting Director Matthew J. Memoli, MD. “By centralizing the peer review process, we will not only reduce costs, but also improve the quality, consistency, and integrity of review, and maximize the competition of similar science across the agency.”
More than 80 % of overall NIH funding supports research institutions across the country, largely through competitive grants administered by NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) or the Office of the NIH Director. Each IC has its own budget and research program, often focused on specific diseases or body systems.
Funding decisions are made through a rigorous two-tiered review process. Scientific review panels, or study sections, first evaluate and score research proposals based on: their scientific and technical merit. Study sections are composed of volunteer scientists, primarily from academia, and overseen by NIH staff called scientific review officers. The NIH's IC Advisory Boards and the Office of the NIH Director then conduct a second-level exam to verify the relevance of the mission. Ultimately, the CI directors make the final funding decisions, taking into account current research priorities and the existing funding portfolio.
The new centralization effort will apply to the first stage of the review process. The NIH CSR, which was established in 1946 to manage the scientific evaluation of NIH grant applications and to ensure independent, expert review free from inappropriate influence, currently manages the peer review process for more than 78 % NIH grants. The remaining 22 % are reviewed in study sections within 23 ICs, each operating separately with its own administrative and support costs. The proposed consolidation would eliminate IC-based study sections so that the CSR would conduct all first-tier reviews.
According to an analysis of FY24 data, the CSR uses 0.3 billion of the NIH budget to review over 66,000 applications annually. In comparison, review costs in ICs average about 300 billion of CSR costs.
“Centralized peer review will mitigate the risk of bias by fully separating the peer review and funding components of the NIH,” said CSR Director Noni Byrnes, Ph.D.
The NIH proposal is currently under review, and its implementation awaits external review. This includes review by HHS and the Office of Management and Budget, granting Congress a 15-day notification period, and issuance of a notice in the Federal Register.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, comprises 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical, and translational medical research. It studies the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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