Quantitative evaluation of peer review of program project and center applications in allergy and immunology

We compared the review patterns of applications for program projects and centers in allergy and immunology, reviewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases review committee, with those of individual research projects in immunology, reviewed by three Division of Research Grants study sections. A high concordance between these review groups was obtained with respect to the application approval rate, mean score, and distribution of applications in various priority score ranges. Furthermore, we observed a high degree of consensus among reviewers on the quality of many program project and center applications, especially those with priority scores between 100 and 200.