Peer Review Ensures Sound Science Impact Cutting Edge Research: Become a Peer Reviewer x-/EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA conducts External Peer Reviews on applications submitted in response to extramural research competitions. External Peer Reviews provide independent expert technical evaluation of the scientific merit of the proposed research and ensure that it is based on sound science. Applications must pass an External Peer Review to be considered further for funding. What Type of applications are Peer Reviewed? Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Grants Three to five year grants covering a range of health and environmental topics. STAR & Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships GRO Undergraduate and STAR Graduate Fellowships for science, engineering, and environmental study Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Contracts Innovative Research Contracts for small businesses to develop new sustainable processes, methods, and products. Find out more about the NCER's STAR grant, STAR and GRO Fellowship, and SBIR research competitions and our research re- sults by visiting our website h tti> :/A i'i n i'. ena. no v/n cer/ Here are just a few projects advanced by previous peer reviewers: STAR Childrens Environmental Research Grant STAR researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health have published results which associate prenatal exposure to air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with behavioral problems in children. STAR P3 Grant UC Davis was awarded a P3 grant to research the possibility of creating plastics from sewage wastewater The team successfully started a company called Micromidas which has since ¦¦ leveraged millions in venture capital to ny \ build a pilot plant. The company now , I employs more than 20 people. STAR Fellow 1. Dr. Johnson Pyrtle, awarded an EPA STAR fellowship in 1997, has since received 2 presidential awards: The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring and 2. The Presidential Award for Excellence in ! Mathematics and Science Teaching. Dr. Pyrtle ' is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemical Oceanography at the the College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg Florida. SBIR Contract Ecovative Design, is an enviromnental start-up company that developed a product to replace synthetic i foams used in packaging and construction by bonding agricultural byproducts like rice and cottonseed hulls, together using mushroom | roots. Information Ne w Re Peer Review Division National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ------- Benefits of Serving as a Peer How to Become an NCER jhe pEER Review Process Reviewer Peer Reviewer • Expand your knowledge of cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary EPA research • Expand your networks • Collaborate with other peer reviewers • Recommend colleagues who can also benefit • Move into new research areas • Join new research communities • Gain a better understanding of how EPA's grant and peer review processes work • Leam how to improve the quality of your own applications • Give feedback to improve future RFAs • Improve research and results in the scientific community • We pay a professional services fee and travel ex- penses for your services as a Peer Reviewer. • We welcome qualified reviewers from academic, government, NGO, non-profit, and business sectors • We encourage you to share this information with other colleagues who might be interested in serving as a peer reviewer. PRD finds qualified reviewers through a variety of sources, including the NCER database, known as Peer Reviewer Infonnation System (PRIS) (this is an internal database not open to the public). Technical experts may nominate themselves for inclusion in PRIS by sending an e-mail request including a brief CV to Benjamin Packard: packard.benjamin(a)epa.gov If you are selected to be a reviewer, you will be required to immediately obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) Number and register in System for Award Management (SAM). Find out more about Peer Review by visiting our website: h ttn://> n n r. en a , n o v/n cer/veerre i 7ei i' Have a question about peer review? Leave us a message at: httn://wwn\erta.uov/ncer/contact us.html 1. We read the applications and detennine the expertise need for peer review. 2. We then seek out reviewers with appropriate expertise using in-house & commercial databases, internet searches and other sources. 3. After compiling a final list of reviewers, we arrange for procurement of the reviewers' service. Reviewers are processed to receive a professional services fee and reimbursement of travel expenses. 4. Approximately 1 month before the peer review meeting, we send reviewers all the applications received and a list of applications that they are specifically to review. 5. Using review criteria, each reviewer prepares an individual evaluation of the applications assigned and provides a score for those applications. 6. Reviewers attend peer review meetings, typically in the Washington, D.C. area, and discuss the applications. 7. We develop summaries from the reviewers' individual comments and include a final score for each application. 8. We send the applicants their review summary along with their final score. 9. We forward highly scored applications for internal review and funding consideration. 10. We arrange for successful and timely reimbursement of reviewer expenses after service is rendered. ------- |