Sample Letters to Applicant

Attachment 2: Sample Letters to Applicants

Sample Acceptance Letter

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted for participation in the Early Career Reviewer (ECR) program at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health. Your name, contact information, and areas of expertise will be added to our ECR database along with your eRA Commons ID. If you do not yet have a Commons ID, please work with your institution’s grants administrator to create an account. This number is used for processing your grant applications and for adding you to the roster of reviewers for study sections.

How SROs Select ECRs

As Scientific Reviewer Officers (SRO) assemble study sections, they search the ECR database for reviewers with expertise in areas relevant to the applications under review. They also verify the recent scholarly activity of reviewers by checking for recent publications and grant submissions through NIH and institutional websites. Your inclusion in a review panel will be up to the judgment of the SRO. Therefore, it is important that you continue to strengthen your program of research and publish your work.

Timing – What to Expect

CSR holds three review rounds per year, with reviews occurring primarily in January/February, June/July, and September/October. Recruitment for study sections usually occurs two to three months prior to each review meeting.

SROs may select one ECR to participate in each study section they conduct. Depending on a match of your expertise to the needs of individual study sections, you may be invited to review very soon or it may take some time for your expertise to be needed. Each ECR may be invited once to participate in a study section. After you have served as an ECR, you may be asked to return to future meetings as a temporary reviewer.

A change has been made in the ECR program policies regarding R01 awards. If you are successful in achieving R01 funding or the equivalent, you will no longer qualify as an ECR, but may be invited to serve on study sections as a temporary reviewer.

Additional Resources

I encourage you to visit the CSR website to learn more about the review process. The tab labeled Reviewer Resources will provide you with detailed information regarding review activities at CSR. Also, please see the ECR website for resources and training opportunities.

Thank you again for your interest in the ECR program. We look forward to having you join the review process.

Karyl B. Swartz, Ph.D.
Director, ECR Program

Associate Director for Diversity and Workforce Development at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR)

Center for Scientific Review |National Institutes of Health| U.S. DHHS
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 2218 MSC 7890, Bethesda, MD 20892-7766
Office: 301-435-1883 |Fax: 301-480-2067| swartzkb@csr.nih.gov

SENSITIVE/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
This message and any attached information is confidential. It is intended only for the addressee(s) identified above. If you are not the addressee(s), or an employee or agent of the addressee(s), please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please erase the message and notify the sender of the error. Thank you

Sample Letter to Applicant Not Accepted

Thank you for your interest in the NIH Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program. Your application has been vetted by one or more experienced Scientific Review Officers at the Center for Scientific Review. Unfortunately, we are unable to include you in the program at this time. We established criteria for admission to the program and select individuals who currently have faculty appointments or the equivalent and are actively involved in research and publication of their work. Your biographical information shows that you are early in your professional career and not yet at the stage where you could benefit most from the ECR program. After you have had more time to establish your independent program of research, we encourage you to reapply.

We wish you well with your career and look forward to hearing about your progress.

Karyl B. Swartz, Ph.D.
Director, ECR Program

Associate Director for Diversity and Workforce Development at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR)

Center for Scientific Review |National Institutes of Health| U.S. DHHS
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 2218 MSC 7890, Bethesda, MD 20892-7766
Office: 301-435-1883 |Fax: 301-480-2067| swartzkb@csr.nih.gov

SENSITIVE/CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

This message and any attached information is confidential. It is intended only for the addressee(s) identified above. If you are not the addressee(s), or an employee or agent of the addressee(s), please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please erase the message and notify the sender of the error. Thank you