Center for Scientific Review

The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is the portal for United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications and their review for scientific merit. The CSR organizes the peer review groups or study sections that evaluate the majority (76%) of the research grant applications sent to NIH.^[1] It also receives all grant applications for NIH, as well as for some other components of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Since 1946, its mission has remained clear and timely: to see that NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews—free from inappropriate influences—so NIH can fund the most promising research.

CSR receives nearly 80,000 applications a year and recruits over 19,000 external experts^[2] to review its portion of them in its study sections, which often meet three times during the year. Additional scientists serve on other NIH advisory councils, which provide a second level of peer review and make funding recommendations based on priorities set by the United States Congress, DHHS, and the public.

From 1946 to 1997, the CSR was known as the Division of Research Grants (DRG).