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Note: An Annual Comprehensive Review, as required by §7 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, is conducted each year on committee data entered for the previous fiscal year (referred to as the reporting year). The data for the reporting year is not considered verified until this review is complete and the data is moved to history for an agency/department. See the Data From Previous Years section at the bottom of this page for the committee’s historical, verified data.

Details on agency responses to committee recommendations can be found under the Performance Measures section for each committee in the fields “Agency Feedback” and “Agency Feedback Comment.”

HHS - 1037 - Neurological Sciences Training Initial Review Group - Authorized by Law

GENERAL INFORMATION

Committee Name	Neurological Sciences Training Initial Review Group	Agency Name	Department of Health and Human Services
Fiscal Year	2025	Committee Number	1037
Original Establishment Date	11/20/1985	Committee Status	Terminated
Actual Termination Date	6/30/2025	Committee URL
Actual Merged Date		Presidential Appointments*	No
New Committee This FY	No	Max Number of Members*	Unlimited
Terminated This FY	Yes	Designated Fed Officer Position Title*	ACTING CHIEF, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW BRANCH
Merged This FY		Designated Federal Officer Prefix
Current Charter Date	2/18/1999	Designated Federal Officer First Name*	SHANTADURGA
Date Of Renewal Charter		Designated Federal Officer Middle Name
Projected Termination Date	6/30/2025	Designated Federal Officer Last Name*	RAJARAM
Exempt From Renewal*	Yes	Designated Federal Officer Suffix	PHD
Specific Termination Authority	2025 Secretary Directive	Designated Federal Officer Phone*	(301) 435-6033
Establishment Authority*	Authorized by Law	Designated Federal Officer Fax*	(301) 402-0182
Specific Establishment Authority*	42 U.S.C. 282(b)(16)	Designated Federal Officer Email*	rajarams@ninds.nih.gov
Effective Date Of Authority*	11/20/1985
Exempt From EO 13875 Discretionary Cmte	Not Applicable
Committee Type*	Continuing
Presidential*	No
Committee Function*	Grant Review Committee

RECOMMENDATION/JUSTIFICATIONS

Agency Recommendation*	Terminate
Legislation to Terminate Required	Not Applicable
Legislation Status	Not Applicable
How does cmte accomplish its purpose?*	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 committee provides advice and recommendations on funding applications and proposals, including but not limited to the scientific and technical merit of applications for grants-in-aid for research, research training and career development, or research-related grants and cooperative agreements, or contract proposals relating to scientific areas relevant to neurological disorders and stroke. During this reporting period the committee reviewed 421 applications requesting $280,066,145 in total direct costs.
How is membership balanced?*	Members and Chairs will be selected by the Director, NIH, or designee, from authorities knowledgeable in the various disciplines and fields relating to training and career development programs and activities in the areas of neurological disorders and stroke. Up to one-fourth of the IRG members, including temporary members, may be officers or employees of the Federal Government. All non-Federal members shall serve as NIH Peer Review Consultants. Federal members will serve as Regular Government Employees. Members will be invited to serve for overlapping terms of up to six years. The permanent membership of the IRG may be supplemented at any meeting through temporary members who have experience or expertise in the disciplines and fields related to the IRG’s function and are appointed to review some or all of the applications considered at that meeting. The individuals will have all the rights and obligations of IRG membership at that meeting, including the right to vote on recommendations in which the individual fully participated as a reviewer. Temporary members will not count towards a quorum. The membership balance is not static and may change depending on the work of the committee.
How frequent & relevant are cmte mtgs?*	The Neurological Sciences Training Initial Review Group held 5 meetings during this reporting period.
Why advice can't be obtained elsewhere?*	This committee is composed of recognized biomedical and/or behavioral research authorities who represent the forefront of research and technical knowledge and who provide first-level merit review of highly scientific and technical reasearch grant applications. These evaluations and recommendations cannot be obtained from other sources because the specialized, complex nature of the applications and proposals requires a unique balance and breadth of expertise not available on the NIH staff or from other established sources.
Why close or partially close meetings?	The meetings of the Neurological Sciences Training Initial Review Group were closed to the public for the review of grant applications. Sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6) of the Government in the Sunshine Act permit the closing of meetings where discussion could reveal confidential trade secrets or commercial property such as patentable material and personal information, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Recommendation Remarks	2025 Secretary Directive-Elimination of Federal Advisory Committees Within the Department of Health and Human Services, Terminated 04.01.2025. EO 14217 Reducing the Scope of the Federal Bureaucracy. This committee did not produce any public reports during the fiscal year. This committee does not have a public website. The DFO and Committee Decision Maker positions are both held by Shanta Rajaram, Ph.D., who is the Acting Chief, Scientific Review Branch, Division of Extramural Activities, NINDS. As Acting Branch Chief, she is responsible for overseeing the Scientific Review Officers who administer the Initial Review Group meetings. All memberships were deactivated on June 30, 2025. In general, initial/integrated review group (IRG) members serve up to six years, which is documented in the Members list. Temporary members are individuals recruited based on expertise needed for each meeting. Some temporary members may attend one meeting only while others may attend multiple meetings. Instead of appointment start and end dates, each meeting date on which the temporary member served is identified on the Members list. Meeting rosters, including members’ affiliations and zip codes are available online at https://public.era.nih.gov/pubroster/.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Outcome Improvement To Health Or Safety*	No	Action Reorganize Priorities*	No
Outcome Trust In Government	No	Action Reallocate Resources	No
Outcome Major Policy Changes	No	Action Issued New Regulations	No
Outcome Advance In Scientific Research	Yes	Action Proposed Legislation	No
Outcome Effective Grant Making	Yes	Action Approved Grants Or Other Payments	Yes
Outcome Improved Service Delivery	No	Action Other	No
Outcome Increased Customer Satisfaction	No	Action Comment	The recommendations of this committee are the major basis for NINDS decisions about how to select a subset of highly qualified grant applications for funding.
Outcome Implement Laws/Reg Requirements	No	Grants Review*	Yes
Outcome Other	No	Number Of Grants Reviewed	421
Outcome Comment	The recommendations of this committee are the major basis for NINDS decisions about how to select a subset of highly qualified grant applications for funding.	Number Of Grants Recommended	421
Cost Savings*	Unable to Determine	Dollar Value Of Grants Recommended	$280,066,145.00
Cost Savings Comment	NIH supported basic and clinical research accomplishments often take many years to unfold into new diagnostic tests and new ways to treat and prevent diseases.	Grants Review Comment	These numbers reflect the total number of applications considered (both scored and not discussed) and the dollar amount requested. The committee also provides numerical ratings to indicate the relative merit of the applications that are discussed.
Number Of Recommendations*	6,685	Access Contact Designated Fed. Officer*	Yes
Number Of Recommendations Comment	Grant Review	Access Agency Website	Yes
% of Recs Fully Implemented*	0.00%	Access Committee Website	No
% of Recs Fully Implemented Comment	Information on the research funded by NIH is available through the RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool) website. RePORT provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities that advance the mission of the NIH, including information on NIH expenditures, strategic plans, reports on NIH funding, and reports on the organization and people involved in NIH research and research training. The RePORT website is located at http://report.nih.gov.	Access GSA FACA Website	Yes
% of Recs Partially Implemented*	0.00%	Access Publications	No
% of Recs Partially Implemented Comment	Information on the research funded by NIH is available through the RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool) website. RePORT provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities that advance the mission of the NIH, including information on NIH expenditures, strategic plans, reports on NIH funding, and reports on the organization and people involved in NIH research and research training. The RePORT website is located at http://report.nih.gov.	Access Other	No
Agency Feedback*	Yes	Access Comment	N/A
Agency Feedback Comment*	Information on the research funded by NIH is available through the RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool) website. RePORT provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities that advance the mission of the NIH, including information on NIH expenditures, strategic plans, reports on NIH funding, and reports on the organization and people involved in NIH research and research training. The RePORT website is located at http://report.nih.gov.	Narrative Description*	NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. 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...

COSTS

1. Payments to Non-Federal Members*		1. Est Paymnts to Non-Fed Membrs Nxt FY*
2. Payments to Federal Members*		2. Est. Payments to Fed Members Next FY*
3. Payments to Federal Staff*		3. Estimated Payments to Federal Staff*
4. Payments to Consultants*		4. Est. Payments to Consultants Next FY*
5. Travel Reimb. For Non-Federal Membrs*		5. Est Travel Reimb Non-Fed Membr nxtFY*
6. Travel Reimb. For Federal Members*		6. Est Travel Reimb For Fed Members*
7. Travel Reimb. For Federal Staff*		7. Est. Travel Reimb to Fed Staf Nxt FY*
8. Travel Reimb. For Consultants*		8. Est Travel Reimb to Consltnts Nxt FY*
10. Other Costs		10. Est. Other Costs Next FY*
11. Total Costs	$0.00	11. Est. Total Next FY*	$0.00
Date Cost Last Modified	3/14/2025 9:15 AM	Est. Fed Staff Support Next FY*
Federal Staff Support (FTE)*		Est Cost Remarks
Cost Remarks

Interest Areas

Category Area Health Health Care Medicine Health and Health Research

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