Scientific Reviewer

Axle • Bethesda, MD

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Axle is seeking a Scientific Reviewer to support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review in Bethesda, Maryland. The role provides scientific and operational services for planning, coordinating, conducting, and documenting NIH peer-review activities, in accordance with NIH and CSR policies, procedures, guidance, review schedules, and federal regulations. The contractor collaborates with Scientific Review Officers (SROs), CSR leadership, reviewers, and support staff to complete assigned work accurately and on time.

The position supports scientific reviews of grant and cooperative agreement applications and contract proposals. Work includes identifying administrative and scientific issues, matching applications with qualified reviewers, reviewing application content and relevance, administering conflict-of-interest checks, coordinating critiques, and preparing and finalizing summary statements and other meeting documentation. The Scientific Reviewer may also provide ad hoc support, validate and enter information into databases, and develop or deliver training for staff and reviewers. Deliverables must be clear, objective, accurate, professional, and compliant with applicable requirements; deficient deliverables must be corrected at the Government’s direction.

Axle describes itself as a bioscience and information technology company working in translational research, biomedical informatics, and data science. It is committed to equal opportunity and a workplace free of illegal discrimination and harassment. The advertised salary range is $91,000–$94,000 USD.

Requirements

• Experience or knowledge in the NIH scientific peer-review process for grants.
• Ability to conduct literature and database searches.
• Ability to prepare administrative summaries and review scientific and administrative content of applications and proposals.
• Ability to match reviewer expertise to application subject matter and identify potential conflicts of interest.
• Ability to evaluate scientific concepts, proposals, protocols, and reports.
• Ability to prepare clear, objective, accurate critiques, summary statements, and meeting documentation.
• Ability to work accurately, professionally, and within deadlines while following NIH policies, CSR practices, and federal regulations.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and comply with ethics standards.
• Experience or familiarity with the Internet Assisted Review (IAR), Peer Review, eRA Committee Management Module (CMM), and Query View Report (QVR) software is listed.
• Relevant fields of study listed: General Medical and Health Services; General Social Sciences; Psychology; Physical Sciences; General Engineering; and Biology.
• No certification is needed.

Responsibilities

• Identify administrative and scientific issues in grant applications and contract proposals, including the hypotheses and rationale presented.
• Identify and recommend reviewers by matching their expertise to the science in applications and proposals.
• Review the content of each application and assess its relevance to the scientific interests of the Institute.
• Conduct administrative reviews of research grant applications and support the scientific peer review of grants, cooperative agreements, and contract proposals assigned for primary merit review.
• Serve as an internal source of information on application receipt, referral, and grants management policies and procedures.
• Identify panel expertise needs, search databases and other resources, and prepare lists of potential reviewers.
• Make initial grant assignment determinations and resolve assignment conflicts based on the scientific interests of the Institute.
• Work with staff to enter reviewer information in the Committee Management system and prepare peer-review rosters; assign applications to reviewers.
• Determine the appropriate meeting format, such as in-person, teleconference, or Internet-Assisted meeting.
• Identify individuals who must be included on conflict-of-interest lists; assess reviewer conflicts against applications; and consult program staff about reviewer candidates and conflicts.
• Examine key personnel, institutional affiliations, and letters of support to identify potential conflicts of interest.
• Obtain, evaluate, and coordinate written reviewer critiques; assess incoming reviews for completeness and accuracy and ensure high-quality reviews are obtained.
• Attend peer-review meetings, capture committee deliberations, and take notes for final documentation of meeting proceedings.
• Prepare preliminary summary-statement drafts; review documents, synthesize reviewer comments, and prepare final summary statements and technical evaluation reports.
• Analyze application science and critically review literature, research concepts, proposals, protocols, and reports.
• Validate and enter information into databases.
• Mentor and train staff on scientific peer-review processes and procedures; assess training needs and develop training programs, materials, job aids, and instructions.
• Mentor and coach peer reviewers in conducting reviews.
• Complete assigned deliverables accurately, professionally, and within established requirements and deadlines; correct and resubmit deficient deliverables when directed by the Government.
• Maintain professional collaboration with Government leadership and reviewers and uphold ethics and confidentiality standards.

Benefits

• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• 401(k) match up to 5%
• Educational benefits for career growth
• Employee referral bonus
• Flexible spending accounts, including healthcare FSA, parking reimbursement account, dependent care assistance program, and transportation reimbursement account

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed