There are six outstanding grant applications listed on the flip
chart. There is money for two, or maybe three. And the decision as to
which will be funded rests in the hands of the 15 members of the
peer-review panel who are meeting inside the glassy rectangle of the American Cancer Society (ACS)
building in central Atlanta, Georgia. It is only 45 minutes into the
committee's two-day meeting in June, and the conversation is already
tense.
"It seems pretty pedestrian," says the committee chairman, referring to the first application on the list. The applicant wants to investigate the molecular signals that could shut down runaway cell division in a particularly deadly cancer — but much of this pathway has already been worked out in other cell types. "This is good solid work," argues another reviewer, slightly exasperated. "Not everything has to be a bright, shiny idea. Valuable information will come out of it. The innovation is less than in other grants, but I think the other aspects make up for that."
To read the full, original article click on this link: Research funding: Making the cut : Nature News
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