42 U.S.C. 2891-4 PEER REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS AND CONTRACT PROJECTS SEC. 475. (a) The Secretary, after consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and, where appropriate, the Directors of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, shall by regulation require appropriate scientific peer review of (1) applications made after the effective date of such regulations for grants under this Act for biomedical and behavioral research; and (2) biomedical and behavioral research and development contract projects to be administered after such effective date through an institute established under this title, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, or the National Institute on Drug Abuse. (b) Regulations promulgated under subsection (a) shall, to the extent practical, require that the review of grant applications required by the regulations be conducted (1) in a manner consistent with the system for scientific peer review applicable on the date of the enactment of this section to applications for grants under this Act for biomedical and behavioral research, and (2) by peer review groups performing such review on or before such date. (c) The members of any peer review group established under such regulations shall be individuals who by virtue of their training or experience are eminently qualified to perform the review functions of the group and not more than one-fourth of the members of any peer review group established under such regulations shall be officers or employees of the United States. |