DoM Internal Review Process for CIHR Project Grant

DoM Internal Review Process for CIHR Project Grant

The Department of Medicine (DoM) conducts an internal peer review process for CIHR Project Grant competitions. These internal reviews run in parallel to the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) Office of Research internal review process.

CIHR Project Grant Spring 2025 Competition 

The DoM stream will only engage qualified reviewers who have been successfully awarded CIHR grants at least twice as a Principal Applicant and have participated in CIHR Peer Review Committees.

  • The DoM internal review process is required for all researchers affiliated with the DoM who have never received a full CIHR Project Grant as Principal Applicant.
  • Applicants who applied in the Fall 2024 competition and are re-submitting to the CIHR Spring 2025 competition, but did not participate in the FoMD internal review, will also need to participate.
  • Anticipated Notice of Decision (NoD) for the Fall 2024 competition is January 29, 2025.
  • Participation in the internal review process is strongly recommended for all other Principal Investigators even if they have a record of CIHR Project funding. However, this is not mandatory.
  • Participation in the internal review process in the DoM or FoMD stream is required for DoM or FoMD's bridge funding eligibility, in case the CIHR application does not receive funding.

Notice of Intent (NOI) to Apply

Stage 1

Researchers who will be (or are considering) applying to the CIHR Project Grant Spring 2025 competition should email Eleni Karageorgos no later than Sunday, December 8, 2024.

  • Place in the Subject line: Notice of Intent to Apply CIHR Project Grant Spring 2025 {your name}
  • Five keywords that best describe the nature of your proposal and the key methodologies
  • CIHR one-page summary

Stage 2

See the Internal Review Spring 2025 Timeline for important dates.

Application Review Process

The DoM Office of Research will randomize CIHR applications to enter the FoMD (non-selected reviewers) versus the DoM stream (selected reviewers). The applicants will be notified as to which review stream their CIHR application has been selected to enter.

Each applicant will be assigned two qualified reviewers. The individuals will meet at least once in person or via Zoom. The reviewers will provide clear, constructive feedback and written comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal, as well as a list of specific recommendations. However, the degree by which these recommendations will be followed is up to the applicant.

Survey of Internal Review

To determine if the DoM Internal Review makes a difference in the success rates of our faculty members, applicants will complete a short questionnaire (up to five questions) to quantify:

  • their experience, e.g., was it constructive or useful?
  • the degree by which they followed the specific recommendation, i.e., % of the recommendations followed in the submitted application.

The reviewers will also grade the application in a standard CIHR manner.

These answers will be analyzed with the CIHR application score/ranking and success (or not) for:

  • satisfactory level of the internal review
  • effectiveness of this intervention
  • effectiveness of types of selected reviewers 

Questions

Please contact Eleni Karageorgos, Team Lead, Office of Research.