Scientific Peer Review Committee (SPRC)

Overview  |   Committee Members  |   Policy  |   Documents

Policy

I. Mission

The mission of the Scientific Peer Review Committee is to support and encourage scientific excellence and rigor at the University of Missouri.

II. Scope of Work

The SPRC provides constructive and rigorous pre-submission review of extramural research proposals for faculty members who wish to voluntarily solicit critical feedback on their proposals. The scope of the SPRC will be confined to scientific critical review and constructive feedback. In the context of intramural competitions, funding decisions will be made by internal sponsor groups. In addition, the SPRC supports the institutional IRB process by providing critical scientific review to evaluate human research subject risks in proposals identified and recommended by the IRB.

III. Organizational Structure

The SPRC is chaired by the Medical Director for Clinical Trials and includes members from SOM, Sinclair School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions, the College of Engineering and the College of Veterinary Medicine. A Vice-Chair will provide assistance to the chair and oversee meetings and activities in the Chair’s absence. Members are appointed by the School of Medicine Deans for Research for terms not to exceed three years, but re-appointments are permissible

IV. Review Process

Substantially complete applications, along with RFA submission guidelines must be received by SPRC within two months of submission deadline. As a general rule, the SPRC will adhere to the NIH scoring system (1-5) scale. Alternative scoring systems may be utilized for specific sponsors or intramural competitive proposals as needed. Each proposal will receive full critique and written comments. The SPRC will follow NIH conventions of assigning primary and secondary reviewers who will present protocol summaries to SPRC members. Ad hoc reviewers will be solicited when specialized expertise is requested or required. The IRB may refer applications to the SPRC if there is a question regarding the scientific design or a concern related to the risk to benefit ratio.

V. Conduct of Review

The SPRC meets monthly on the first Wednesday from 1:00 -2:30 p.m. or as deemed necessary by the Chair. SPRC minutes are recorded and provide a summary and documentation of discussions about each proposal. Reviewers are responsible for preparing written reviews which should include constructive and educational recommendations for protocol improvements. Primary and secondary reviewers will be assigned to present the protocol to committee members. SPRC members are expected to devote sufficient time to the review process to score protocols in a thoughtful manner and to generate constructive feedback for the investigators. In addition, SPRC members are expected to exercise diligent attention to real or apparent conflicts of interest and to recuse their participation in the review of proposals in which they may have a vested interest.