- Mission [1]
- The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability,
from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better
health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical
schools, hospitals, businesses and research institutions throughout the country and abroad. Section 492 of the PHS Act states
that "The Secretary...shall by regulation require appropriate technical and scientific peer review of -- (A) applications...;
and (B) biomedical and behavioral research and development contracts...." The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge
to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold.
The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by
supporting the research of non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout
the country and abroad. Section 492 of the PHS Act states that "The Secretary...shall by regulation require appropriate technical
and scientific peer review of -- (A) applications...; and (B) biomedical and behavioral research and development contracts...."
The mission of this committee is to advise the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Director of the Division
of Extramural Activities, NCI, about the scientific and technical merit of applications for grants for research, research
training, research-related grants and cooperative agreements, and contract proposals related to scientific areas relevant
to carcinogenesis, cancer biology, cancer center administration, medicine, radiological and surgical oncology, cancer chemotherapy,
cancer epidemiology, cancer prevention and control, cancer education, cancer information services, community outreach, cancer
detection and diagnosis, cancer treatment and restorative care, dentistry, nursing, public health, nutrition, education of
health professionals, medical oncology, surgery, radiotherapy, pediatric oncology, pathology, nanotechnology, proteomics,
genomics, and biostatistics. This committee is meeting its mission because it is composed of recognized biomedical research
and behavioral research experts who represent the forefront of research,have technical knowledge relating to cancer and ensure
fair, equitable, and unbiased evaluation. They provide first-level scientific and technical merit evaluation of applications
for grants and cooperative agreements including applications for cooperative clinical trials groups for Phase I, II and III
clinical trials of new cancer treatments; individual investigator-initiated research projects; multi-component research programs,
Cancer Center core support, institutional cancer training and education programs, and individual career development awards
to reduce the morbidity and mortality from cancer. The grant applications address all aspects of basic, translational, and
clinical research, and many of themare highly complex, multidisciplinary and multi component applications. The work of the
committee therefore helps to fund and maintain high-quality cancer research and research infrastructure in the United States
and also facilitates training of new scientists and clinicians at various stages of their careers in cancer research. Several
pilot studies to determine ways to save tax dollars in the operation of the committee have been completed. These include the
use of electronic media (CDs) to save paper and reduce both printing and mailing costs in sending review related materials
including grant applications to committee members, the use of streamlined review procedures to reduce the number of meeting
days required, and the use of teleconference calls or other technology to eliminate travel expenses for some committee members.
Also, review staff is now using IMPAC II stored digital images of grant applications to extract needed information from applications
without retyping or scanning individual pages and CDs are being phased out in favor of allowing reviewers to access the applications
on line. The main goal of the committee is to maintain its current high quality of peer review in order to identify the most
meritorious applications for research, research infrastructure and research training to prevent, detect, diagnose, treat and
cure cancer. Management of the committee will continue to incorporate technological advances in distribution and evaluation
of materials to facilitate the committee members to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of the applications more efficiently.
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