NIH Review of Peer Review Process Finally Samples Current Reviewers

Colleagues who have served on NIH study sections in recent rounds are reporting being surveyed by the NIH/CSR process which has been evaluating grant review. The NIH Peer Review Advisory Committee (PRAC) links are a good place to start if you want to catch up. Or you can start with some posts on the old blog.
It is no secret that I think it idiotic that so much of this breast beating about the “broken” review system has preceded without obvious and significant input from current reviewers. Well, now they are soliciting input.

Confidential Reviewer Comments To Editors

An acquaintance of mine, despite receiving what appear to be very enthusiastic reviews on one of her manuscripts, including language like this:

I found the results interesting and intriguing. They represent one of the first serious attempts to understand poogly-plugs at the cellular level. Thus, the work is of great importance and interest to the poogly-plug field. In addition, I believe that these findings are also of broad interest to researchers outside the poogly-plug field.

This is typical boilerplate language meant to convey “publish this motherfucker!” So what’s the fucking problem?