Calling CANS nurse scientists to serve as NIH reviewers

Abstract

A significant portion of nursing and biomedical research depends on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for funding, both directly and indirectly ( Crotty et al., 2020 Crotty S Blish C Kadwell K Chi H Goldrath A Green D Kaech SM Krummel M Pepper M Rothlin CV Wherry EJ Once-a-Year Pledge SupportersReinvigorating NIH Grant Peer Review. Immunity. 2020; 52: 1-3https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2019.12.016 Google Scholar ). NIH funding decisions are made based on the peer review process, and the quality of peer review is a function of the availability of expert reviewers. According to NIH, expert reviewers are experienced investigators who: have substantial independent research experience; have received major peer-reviewed grants (R01 or equivalent); understand the importance of the review process; and are dedicated to high quality, fair review ( National Institutes of Health 2020a National Institutes of Health. (2020a). Becoming a Peer Reviewer. Retrieved from: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/peer/becoming_peer_reviewer.htm?. Google Scholar ). NIH strives to recruit reviewers from varied backgrounds so that review panels are diverse with respect to geographic representation, gender, race, and ethnicity.