Grant Review Process

​​The grant review process at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), as that operating throughout the NIH, is a dual review system mandated by federal statute and in accordance with regulation 42 CFR Part 52h. The first level of review is carried out by scientific review groups, composed primarily of non-federal scientists with expertise in relevant scientific fields and current research areas. The second level of review is performed by the National Advisory General Medical Sciences (NAGMS) Council composed of scientific, medical, education, and public representatives. Only those applications that are recommended for approval by both levels of review may be recommended for funding by the NIGMS director.

The NIGMS Scientific Review Branch (SRB)​ oversees the first part of this dual review process. Each scientific review group, or peer-review panel,  is led by a scientific review officer (SRO), who is the designated federal official for the meeting. SROs analyze the content of each application and check for completeness, recruit qualified reviewers based on the scientific and technical contents of the application, are responsible for ensuring that each application receives an objective, high quality, and fair initial peer-review, and that all federal laws, regulations, and NIH policies are implemented. SROs also identify and manage conflicts of interest, oversee administrative and regulatory aspects of peer-review meetings, and prepare final summary statements which are used for the second level of review by the NAGMS council.