On May 7, 2012, SOT President William Slikker Jr. forwarded a message received from Seymour Garte of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) announcing that the Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) called Systemic Injury by Environmental Exposure (SIEE) had been reinstated to review grant applications “in the fields of Environmental Health and Toxicology.” CSR is encouraging potential applicants in the fields of toxicology and environmental health sciences to consider submitting applications directed to this study section. (The referral guidelines for the reinstated SIEE Study Section have changed; please view the new guidelines for SIEE.)
At this point, CSR staff has begun the process of preparation for the return of SIEE, including recruitment of reviewers, setting dates for meetings, etc. It is anticipated that the first meeting will be held in February 2013 to review applications submitted for the October/November 2012 deadlines.
SOT leadership worked with the CSR for a number of years regarding the need for a Study Section focused on toxicology. Reinstating the SIEE review panel is the next step in that process and builds on the efforts and accomplishments of many individuals, as briefly outlined below:
- 2004–2008: An NIH Funding Task Force was appointed by 2004–2005 SOT President Linda Birnbaum and charged with collecting data on the fate of member grant applications. This task force was chaired by David Eaton and subsequently by Ronald Hines.
- 2007: SOT Council met with then NIH Director Elias Zerhouni and presented both the rationale and data supporting the value of creating a new Integrated Review Group (IRG) with toxicology and therapeutics study sections. SOT also sent two members to each of six Open Houses sponsored by then NIH CSR Director Toni Scarpa. The SOT representatives included Martin Philbert and Shawn Lamb (March 2, 2007, Neurological IRGs), Debra Cory-Slechta and Bruce Kelman (August 25, 2007, Behavioral and Social Science IRG), Travis O’Brien and Vernon Walker (June 29, Disease-based IRGs), Ronald Hines and Chris States (August 24, 2007, Integrated Biological IRGs), Aaron Barchowsky and Steve Pruett (November 9, Integrated Biological IRGs), and Ken Ramos and Alvaro Puga (December 18, Biomolecular IRGs).
- 2008: On February 20, 2008, Dr. Scarpa and NIEHS Acting Director Sam Wilson announced the formation of a new Systemic Injury by Environmental Exposure (SIEE) Special Emphasis Panel (SEP) in the Digestive Disease IRG. SIEE was to review applications from June 2008 and operate for a one-year probationary period. SOT 2007–2008 President George B. Corcoran noted in his President’s Message in the Communiqué Special Issue 2008 that “it is imperative for toxicologists to request that their qualifying grants be assigned to this SIEE.” Dr. Scarpa attended the 2008 SOT Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington and made a presentation on March 19 describing “Enhancements in the Review of NIH Grant Applications.” Dr. Scarpa commended the Society for participating in the CSR initiative to identify highly qualified, volunteer reviewers to serve on NIH peer review study sections. He stated that “Since their names were entered into the registry in March of 2008, 29 of the 51 volunteers from the Society of Toxicology have served on NIH study sections.”
- 2009: In August, SOT 2009–2010 President Cheryl Lyn Walker encouraged SOT members to communicate to CSR the importance of the continuation of the SIEE SEP. In July 2009, Seymour Garte became the Director of the Division of Physiological and Pathological Sciences at CSR.
- 2010: However, CSR decided to discontinue the SIEE SEP in 2010, citing data demonstrating grant applications fared no better in SIEE than they did in other study sections.The CSR developed a two-stage panel process for more complex and multi-disciplinary grant applications. Under this system, CSR might invite 2,000 scientists to serve on its first panel named the “College of CSR Reviewers.” These scientists were to act as first-stage expert reviewers and might provide written analysis for up to 12 applications a year. A second panel was to take the written comments into consideration, evaluate the applications, and assign final priority scores. SOT nominated reviewers and a number of SOT members served in this capacity.
- 2011: SOT continued to monitor this process and to urge Dr. Garte and Acting NIH CSR Director Richard Nakamura to consider the importance of reconstituting the SIEE SEP. Many of the names mentioned above continued to be involved in these activities, including Drs. Hines, Walker, and many others.
- 2012: In January 2012, Dr. Garte convened a working group chaired by Dr. Cheryl Walker and involving several SOT members. The working group was charged with evaluating data on the review outcomes of environmental health-oriented grant applications and making recommendations to improve the process if substantial inequities were supported by the data. The working group recommended reconstituting SIEE with new and broader referral guidelines.
Based on the recommendations of the working group, the SIEE SEP has been re-constituted by CSR. SOT members are encouraged to review the new referral guidelines and submit grant applications to this study section as appropriate. Thanks to the many SOT members who championed the need for an environmental health focused review panel, there is now a new opportunity. The support of the toxicology community is essential to ultimately reaching a successful outcome.