Peer Review Committees (PRCs)

All American Cancer Society grant applications are evaluated for scientific merit and relevance to cancer using an independent, confidential, and highly competitive, two-stage peer review process.

Each Peer Review Committee is composed of 12 to 25 scientific advisors (“peers”), who are experts in their fields. Each committee also has at least one Community Research Partner—an individual who has personal experience with cancer—as a survivor or as a family member or caregiver of a person with cancer.

Extramural Discovery Science (EDS) Scientific Directors determine which peer review committee will review the applications, and they recruit experts to the committees and assign reviewers to each application.

Stage One: Committee members independently review grant applications and then meet in person or virtually as a group to discuss and rank applications by grant mechanism based on the evaluation criteria for the respective grant types. Each applicant is provided detailed critiques from the two assigned scientific experts.

Stage Two: Each PRC’s ranking, critiques, and scores are then reviewed at the second tier for final funding decisions.

FAQs: ACS Extramural Discovery Science and Grant Application Submissions.

See the EDS Research Programs and their associated peer-review committees: 

Career Growth and Research Excellence

Biochemistry and Immunology of Cancer Program

Cell Biology and Preclinical Cancer Research Program

Clinical and Population Sciences Research Program

Mission Boost Grants