Skip to main content

What should NIH peer review look like?

Lawrence Tabak, who is spearheading the NIH's review of peer review, has read every single one of the thousands of responses submitted to the NIH last year, after the agency asked the biomedical community to weigh in on how it should linkurl:improve;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54100/ peer review. Last month, I sat down with him to talk about what he plans to do with this information. For starters, the "village vote" won't work, linkurl:Tabak;https://intramural.nidd

Written byAlison McCook
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Lawrence Tabak, who is spearheading the NIH's review of peer review, has read every single one of the thousands of responses submitted to the NIH last year, after the agency asked the biomedical community to weigh in on how it should linkurl:improve;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54100/ peer review. Last month, I sat down with him to talk about what he plans to do with this information. For starters, the "village vote" won't work, linkurl:Tabak;https://intramural.niddk.nih.gov/research/faculty.asp?People_ID=1560 said. "The fact that most people raised their hand about something doesn't mean that it's something that will have the most impact," he said. The NIH received more than 2,000 responses, some in the form of a statement from an institution or professional organization, each representing thousands of researchers. For now, the agency is sifting through the recommendations and will submit a list of key suggestions to NIH director Elias Zerhouni at the end of February. Tabak has some favorites: "There are several where I just sat and said, 'gee, I wish I had thought of that.'" But he won't say which recommendations he prefers. "I don't want to potentially bias the process." Still, "every comment has been instructive, at some level." Click linkurl:here;https://images.the-scientist.com/supplementary/audio/track5_edited.mp3 to listen to excerpts of my conversation with Tabak, during which he explains how he got involved in this massive undertaking. We want to know what you think. Click linkurl:here;https://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/54009/ to weigh in on some of the recommendations the NIH is considering.
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member?
Add The Scientist as a preferred source on Google

Add The Scientist as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.

Meet the Author

Related articles background image
August 2026 Digest cover
August 2026

Epic Fail: Sea-Monkeys Sabotage Fieldwork

When Barry Hicks set out to photograph thrombolites, thousands of unexpected visitors photobombed his underwater images.

View this Issue
Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance in Liver Cancer

Axion Biosystems
Optimizing NGS Library Preparation for Reliable Sequencing Data

Optimizing NGS Library Preparation for Reliable Sequencing Data

Covaris
Using TCR Repertoire Sequencing to Advance Immunology Research

Using TCR Repertoire Sequencing to Advance Immunology Research

Miltenyi
Mapping Clonal Mosaicism in Aging Tissues

Mapping Clonal Mosaicism in Aging Tissues

Mission bio

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches SuperNuclease ® Pro with Free Trial Program

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Launches Precisely Characterized Full-Length p-Tau217 Protein to Advance Next-Generation Alzheimer’s Biomarker Assay Development

A photo of a scientist placing the Resipher device on a 96-well plate.

Resipher: Continuous Live-Cell Mitochondrial Respiration Monitoring in 96-Well Plates

Lucid Scientific logo
Conceptual image of ice and frost.

The VAULT100 PRO: Inside the most advanced Stirling Ultracold ULT freezer ever built.

Stirling Ultracold logo