Vetting Peer Reviewers at NIH's Center for Scientific Review: Strengths and Limitations

Congress, NIH, and Federal intelligence agencies have raised concerns about foreign threats to the integrity of U.S. medical research and intellectual property. In August 2018, Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH, raised concerns that peer reviewers were, in some cases, inappropriately sharing confidential information with others. Subsequently, in 2018 Congress provided OIG with $5 million for oversight of NIH grant programs and operations, including the effectiveness of NIH's efforts to protect intellectual property derived from NIH-supported research. This study assesses the strengths and limitations of NIH's Center for Scientific Review (CSR)'s vetting of peer reviewer nominees before they begin reviewing applications for research grants. These peer reviewers have a unique opportunity to access confidential information in grant applications. Because of this access, it is important for NIH to ensure that peer reviewers do not inappropriately disclose or divert confidential information, including intellectual property.