untitled

tiques, a budget recommendation, a meeting

roster, and contact information for the

appropriate Program Officer in the assigned

Institute or Center.

If Your Application Was

Not Funded

If your application was not funded, you have

two options. If the summary statement out-

lines specific points that can be addressed

succinctly, then fixing those weaknesses and

submitting an amended application for the

next deadline is advisable. For amended

applications, reviewers are given the prior

summary statement and they are instructed

to comment on both the applicant’s response

to the previous review and the degree to

which the application is improved, so a key

factor in crafting a successful amended appli-

cation is addressing the reviewers’ criticisms.

This does not necessarily mean accepting

them; sometimes reviewers’ criticisms can be

handled by providing additional information

or a more thorough explanation. In most

cases, the amended application will be sent to

the same study section, although different

reviewers may be assigned to review it. If the

applicant requests another study section in a

cover letter and the new study section has the

expertise required to review the application,

the request is generally honored.

Scores are often improved in subsequent

submissions (for a given project, one can

make three submissions). However, changing

the application according to the prior study

section’s comments does not guarantee fund-

ing. Sometimes the second set of reviewers

uncover weaknesses not found during the

first review. Therefore, it is common for even

an amended application to receive an unfa-

vorable score; it may even score more poorly

than did the original.

If you believe that a substantive factual

error has been made in the review process,

your second option is to initiate a formal

appeal by writing a letter to the Program

Officer. Your concern will be discussed at

NIH and your letter may be sent to the

Advisory Council or Board of the funding

Institute or Center, seeking their recommen-

dation for an appropriate course of action. In

order to be effective, an appeal letter should

address specific issues or comments in the

summary statement that can be documented,

rather than differences of scientific opinion.

CHAPTER 7 • GRANTS 205

You should not attempt to

discuss your application, the

manner in which it was

reviewed or an appropriate

course of action until you have

the summary statement in hand

and have given it adequate

consideration.

A key factor in crafting a

successful amended application

is addressing the reviewers’

criticisms.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY

In order to be effective, an

appeal letter should address

specific issues or comments

in the summary statement

that can be documented,

rather than differences of

scientific opinion.