Associate professor selected to serve national medical research agency

June 30, 2016 | News, Research, UToday, Medicine and Life Sciences
By Rebecca Schwan



An immunology expert at The University of Toledo has been named to a National Institute of Health study section to help select research projects for federal funding.

Dr. Viviana Ferreira, associate professor of medical microbiology and immunology, will serve as a member of the NIH Innate Immunology and Inflammation Study Section, part of the Center for Scientific Review.

Ferreira

Ferreira

“It is truly an honor to be selected as a member of the study section,” Ferreira said. “It’s also a great responsibility that requires a commitment to stay ahead of the cutting-edge research that is happening in the biomedical field.”

Members are selected based on their demonstrated competence and achievement in their specific area of study. Ferreira was chosen for her expertise in the field of the complement system, a central component of the innate immune system and other soluble host defense proteins and their regulation.

Study sections are a part of the rigorous scientific merit peer review process of grant applications for science researchers. Members score grant applications for their scientific merit and make recommendations to the appropriate NIH advisory council or board for the next phase of review.

“There is fierce competition for research funding, and the review process is highly selective,” Ferreira said. “Only 5 to 15 percent of grant applications received are actually funded. It is a challenge to select only a handful of recipients when there is so much great research happening across the country.”

Ferreira will serve the study section from July 2016 through June 2020.

Click to access the login or register cheese