UNM Cancer Center Physician Selected for NIH Peer Review Committee

Dr. Car­olyn Muller, UNM pro­fes­sor of Obstet­rics and Gyne­col­ogy and direc­tor of Gyne­co­logic Oncol­ogy at the UNM Can­cer Cen­ter, has been selected to serve as a peer reviewer for the National Insti­tutes of Health (NIH), one of the world’s fore­most med­ical research cen­ters. The invi­ta­tion is both a credit to Muller’s sci­en­tific accom­plish­ments and one of the high­est forms of ser­vice to national bio­med­ical research.

“This is a fan­tas­tic honor for Dr. Muller and for our Cen­ter,” said Dr. Cheryl Will­man, direc­tor and CEO of the UNM Can­cer Cen­ter. “The pres­tige of being part of the peer review process at this level is matched only by the tremen­dous amount of sci­en­tific learn­ing review­ers acquire—and bring back to their home institution.”

Sev­enty per­cent of major dis­cov­er­ies and Nobel Prizes in med­i­cine and phys­i­ol­ogy are attrib­uted to sci­en­tists in the United States. The NIH funds most of this ground-breaking work, and it does so through the uniquely pow­er­ful mech­a­nism of peer review. The cor­ner­stone of excel­lent sci­ence, peer review involves sci­en­tific experts eval­u­at­ing the merit of research by oth­ers in their field. Each year, the NIH receives around 88,000 grant appli­ca­tions for med­ical and allied research projects. It recruits 18,000 exter­nal experts from across the nation in a mas­sive effort to iden­tify the most promis­ing projects for fund­ing. These experts are orga­nized into peer review groups, called study sec­tions, each con­tain­ing around 20 sci­en­tists. The NIH then matches these review groups with rel­e­vant grant appli­ca­tions, and the rig­or­ous review process begins.

Reflect­ing her world-class clin­i­cal cre­den­tials, Muller has been recruited to the NIH’s Clin­i­cal Oncol­ogy Study Sec­tion. “Mem­bers are selected on the basis of their demon­strated com­pe­tence and achieve­ment in their sci­en­tific dis­ci­pline,” wrote the NIH’s Direc­tor of the Cen­ter for Sci­en­tific Review, Dr. Toni Scarpa, in a let­ter of con­grat­u­la­tions. “[This achieve­ment is] evi­denced by the qual­ity of research accom­plish­ments, pub­li­ca­tions in sci­en­tific jour­nals and other sig­nif­i­cant sci­en­tific activ­i­ties, achieve­ments and honors.”

The Clin­i­cal Oncol­ogy Study Sec­tion reviews grant appli­ca­tions in patient-oriented research and clin­i­cal ther­a­peu­tic tri­als, areas that ensure the safe and timely deliv­ery of cutting-edge treat­ments to patients. The goal is to iden­tify the best new clin­i­cal research for NIH fund­ing. Muller begins her three-year term as a Study Sec­tion mem­ber in July.

“I am thrilled and grate­ful to have this oppor­tu­nity,” said Muller. “By serv­ing the med­ical research com­mu­nity through the peer review process, I hope to also serve the many patients and their fam­i­lies who will ben­e­fit from new and bet­ter ways to treat cancer.”