WEEKDAY INFORMATION SESSION
Mock Grant Review
ORGANIZERS: Joseph J. H. Ackerman, Ph.D., Guoying Liu, Ph.D. & Lee Rosen, Ph.D.
 
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
OVERVIEW
For many junior scientists, the grant review process is shrouded in mystery and rumor. To provide clarity and insight into the workings of a typical grant review board, this educational session will convene a mock United States National Institutes of Health “Study Section”. Three MR-related grant applications that were previously submitted to the agency will be reviewed and scored by a panel of senior MR scientists with experience on NIH Study Sections. While of obvious relevance to ISMRM meeting participants from the USA, many of the salient issues characterizing the grant review process are similar across national cultures. Thus, the session will be of interest to all junior scientists.

Following an introduction outlining the Study Section review process, audience participants will be given the Abstract and Specific Aims page from each grant and the mock session will then begin. Reviewers will introduce themselves and will receive instructions from the Study Section Scientific Review Officer (SRO) regarding confidentiality, the scoring/voting system, and the actual process by which the review will be carried out. The agenda will then be turned over to the Chair of the Study Section who will commence the review and scoring.

Following conclusion of the mock Study Section, audience participants will have a chance to ask questions, voice opinions, and comment on the review process. The actual outcome of the real Study Session review process concerning the grant applications involved in the mock Study Section review will be revealed. The program will conclude with a presentation regarding NIH programmatic considerations and sources for additional information.
 

PROGRAM
     
16:00 Introduction - Study Section Review Process, Scoring, Confidentiality
(Distribution of Grant Application Abstracts and Specific Aims Pages.)		  
16:15 Scientific Review Officer (SRO) Begins Mock Study Section:
Introduction of Study Section Members;
Empowerment of Study Section Chair		  
16:20 Study Section Chair Initiates the Review Process  
17:20 End of Mock Study Section Review Process
Audience Participation re Questions, Opinions, and Comments		  
17:40 Programmatic Considerations & Sources for Additional Information re the Grant Review Process Guoying Liu, Ph.D.
     
18:00 Adjournment