Review for NIH Grant Applications
Your study section scores the science. Before it does, check that the text says what you mean: a Specific Aims page that matches the Research Strategy, a timeline that matches the aims, and no typos in the first page they read.
$50, paid once · Refunded if you're not satisfied · PDF and Word
What a review can check in an NIH application
An NIH application is written in pieces, often by several people, and revised up to the deadline. The pieces drift: an aim is reworded in the Specific Aims page and not in the Research Strategy, a sub-aim moves to year 3 in the timeline but stays in year 2 in the approach, a sample size changes between two sections. Reviewers notice, and it costs their confidence in the plan. The Grant Proposal Review reads the whole application in one pass and reports language, structure, typos and these inconsistencies, each with the passage quoted and a suggested fix. It costs $50, paid once. It does not score your application, does not predict a percentile or a funding decision, does not check NIH formatting or page limits, and does not write any part of the application.
What NIH reviewers score, as of November 2026
For application due dates on or after January 25, 2025, NIH uses a simplified framework for most research project grants, including the R01, R03, R15 and R21 activity codes. The five regulatory criteria are grouped into three factors: Importance of the Research (significance and innovation, scored 1 to 9), Rigor and Feasibility (approach, scored 1 to 9), and Expertise and Resources (investigators and environment, judged sufficient or not, with no separate score). All three feed the overall impact score. Source: NIH, Simplified Peer Review Framework, consulted November 2026.
A review of the text cannot judge importance or rigor. What it can do is remove the obstacles to judging them: an approach that is hard to follow, aims that are stated three slightly different ways, a timeline that contradicts the plan.
NIH and AI tools
In notice NOT-OD-25-132 (released July 17, 2025), NIH states that it will not consider applications substantially developed by AI, or containing sections substantially developed by AI, to be the original ideas of applicants. The same notice limits each principal investigator to six new, renewal, resubmission or revision applications per calendar year, for applications submitted to the September 25, 2025 receipt date and beyond. The Grant Proposal Review does not write or rewrite any section: it quotes your text and suggests fixes that you decide on. Read the notice yourself and decide how it applies to your use of any tool.
Before you submit
1. Read the funding opportunity again
Page limits, required sections and review criteria are set by the notice of funding opportunity and the NIH application guide. Check each one against your draft yourself.
2. Put the narrative in one file
Specific Aims, Research Strategy and any other text sections you want compared, in one PDF or Word file, so the review can check them against each other.
3. Upload and pay once
$50, paid through Stripe before the review starts. Most reports are ready in under 30 minutes.
4. Fix what you agree with
Each finding quotes the passage. You decide what to change, and you write the change.
5. Give the draft to a colleague
A colleague in your field judges what a review of the text cannot: whether the question matters and the approach is sound. The research proposal checklist lists what to ask them.
What the review covers in an NIH application
Aims against the plan
Aims and sub-aims worded differently, or promised in one section and missing from another.
Timeline and milestones
Dates, years and milestones that contradict the approach or each other.
Numbers
Sample sizes, budget figures and counts that differ between sections.
Structure
Order and balance of the parts, missing or redundant parts, transitions a reviewer has to bridge.
Language and typos
Vague claims, sentences a reviewer would read twice, spelling and punctuation.
What it does not do
No score, no percentile prediction, no check of NIH formatting, page limits or required forms, no rewrite.
Review for NIH Grant Applications questions
No. A mock study section is a panel of researchers scoring your application as reviewers would. The Grant Proposal Review is an editorial read of the text: language, structure, typos and inconsistencies. It gives no score and no prediction.