Congratulations to Pedro A. Jose, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology and physiology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, who was elected as chair of the Hypertension and Microcirculation Study Section at the National Institutes of Health. He will serve in this volunteer position from July 2016 to June 2017.
This study section reviews grant applications involving basic and applied aspects of cardiovascular regulation with a focus on the physiology of blood pressure regulation, the pathogenesis of hypertension, and microcirculation. It includes studies on cell surface receptors and signaling processes of various hormones, paracrine and autocrine, and their mechanisms of action as related to hypertension, integrated neural-humoral control of circulation, regional hemodynamics, lymphatic circulation, and microcirculation. As chair, Dr. Jose will facilitate the review process that includes the summarizing of discussions among grant reviewers and calling for a final vote to determine their recommendation regarding the overall scientific impact of the grant proposal. The impact should reflect assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the five scored review and review criteria. The five scored criteria include significance, innovation, and scientific approach, applicant, and the institution and environment where the research will be conducted.
A main goal of the study section is to determine the best research with the best overall impact. After the grant proposals are reviewed by the Study Sections, they are reviewed by appropriate council and recommendation sent to the National Institutes of Health for a final decision, where the decision is guided by the recommendations made by the reviewers.
Dr. Jose previously served as the chair of the Hypertension and Microcirculation Study Section from 1996 to 1998 when it was called the Cardiovascular and Renal Study Section B. Since that time, the scope of the study section has narrowed.
Dr. Jose joined the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences in the fall of 2015 and brings an impressive portfolio of research in personalized medicine for hypertension care. Regular publications, a good track record of funding, and his experience reviewing grants and papers all played a role in his nomination to this position.
