State of the Station focuses on State of the Science.

On Tuesday October 6 from 1 to 2 p.m., WCOM 103.5 FM welcomes back 27 UNIHTED members and former National Institutes of Health extramural scientists, Dr. Sylvia Chou and Dr. Jennifer Troyer.  They will be joining host Larry Solomon, Ph.D., himself a former Scientific Program Manager at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to bring you periodic episodes on the State of the Station that are focused on the State of the Science.

Our episode on October 6th will attempt to demystify peer review of NIH applications and explain how this process is changing under the current administration. These changes are impacting the scientific community and the research that is funded by taxpayer dollars. To help understand how peer review of scientific proposals works and why it should matter to everyone, Larry, Jen and Sylvia will be joined by Dr. Mollie Manier, a Scientific Review Officer (SRO) at the Center for Scientific Review speaking in her personal capacity, and Dr. David Sommers, former SRO at the National Institute of Mental Health.

We particularly want the audience to know that there is a proposal to make a change in the review reporting process that reduces transparency: NOT-OD-26-088. This proposal is open to public comment until October 13th, meaning that anyone with a stake in the outcome (which is anyone who does research or who benefits or hopes to benefit from health research someday) can express their opinion about the proposal. The Research Triangle Park region, home to one of the country’s densest concentrations of biomedical talent, will feel the impact of these changes and should understand the importance of speaking out to defend academic freedom and scientific integrity. To learn more, read the proposal and this assessment by 27 UNIHTED members.  For more information about other ways that peer review is changing and how this impacts how science is funded, we recommend reading “The quiet attack on science:subverting NIH peer review.”

27 UNIHTED is an advocacy organization founded by former and current NIH staff members supporting the integrity of publicly funded health research.  You can sign up to receive our weekly newsletter.

Sneak preview: the next “State of the Science” episode will air on October 20th and feature the current state of Environmental Health Science.

Tune in to WCOM 103.5 FM Chapel Hill in Carrboro, or stream live at wcomfm.org.