Serving on a review board for a funding agency is part of the service an investigator is expected to do.
If you are interested in serving on a review board for a funding agency such as NIH, there are different ways to accomplish that.
First, you should know what is involved in serving on a review board. Be sure that you have the time available in your schedule to both review grant applications as well as attend the review board sessions. You can get a good overview of the process by visiting the NIH website referenced below.
- Begin by talking to colleagues who are currently serving on review boards. Often they are asked by Scientific Review Administrators (SRAs) for recommendations of people who are willing to serve and would be good reviewers. You can find out who is currently serving on CSR Study Sections by visiting the website listed below.
- Consider volunteering to serve on Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) study sections rather than limiting your interest to serving on RO1 study sections only. You will be able to learn the process, gain experience, and become acquainted with the SRA.
- Contact the SRAs who run ad hoc study sections instead of focusing on the charter study section. While these are temporary review positions and not term positions, you will gain the experience and become better known to the SRAs handling those sections.
- When attending meetings or conferences, look for the relevant SRAs and attend any session in which they may be involved. Talk to them about your interest in being on the review board.
- Take the initiative and arrange for a symposium at a meeting or conference and invite one or two SRAs to speak. They will be happy to discuss the review process. Also consider setting up a mock study section as a workshop and having the appropriate SRA run it so that your colleagues have the opportunity to participate or observe how a study section is run. This has the added advantage of working with the SRA to set up the session, allowing him/her to become better acquainted with you.
- Contact your APS Section Chair and let him/her know of your interest in serving. APS has often been asked to recommend the names of people who would be interested in serving and that request is usually passed on to the sections.
See below for resources on being a grant reviewer (APS does not endorse or assume responsibility for the information posted on these web sites).
Resources from APS Archive