Sanjana Dayal, PhD, has been invited to become a member of the National Institutes of Health’s Hemostasis, Thrombosis, Blood Cells and Transfusion (HTBT) Study Section.

Dayal’s role in the group is expected to be at least a four-year commitment (2024–2028), transitioning her from ad hoc to a standing member. As a member, her responsibilities will involve reviewing and scoring the scientific merit of grant proposals submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Given her background in hematology, particularly in blood clotting disorders, this shift is a natural progression of her career. Dayal has not only successfully secured NIH funding for three of her R01 proposals through this study section, but previously held four ad hoc appointments with HTBT, and made lasting connections with the scientific committee.

To be accepted as a standing member, Dayal met specific requirements, including serving as an ad hoc member, and securing NIH funding through research that aligns with the group’s focus areas. These prerequisites served to highlight her skills as a scientist and her compatibility with HTBT’s objectives, chief of which is to evaluate the scientific and technical merits of grant applications and offering a priority score that helps determine its potential for funding.

“As a member I use my expertise in assessing the significance and novelty of proposals, and the scientific rigor of prior research as well as proposed study designs,” Dayal explained. Her role, which began earlier this month, will involve not only providing initial scores based on these criteria, but also actively engaging in group discussions to evaluate the overall potential of each application.

Dayal’s contributions to HTBT’s goals will be multi-faceted, ensuring that future scientists or physician-scientists make ethical, novel, and meaningful contributions to health care. As a seasoned basic scientist in hematology-oncology, she will use her expertise to play a critical role in ensuring that the proposed designs adhere to high scientific standards and identify the most promising proposals for future funding, paving the way for groundbreaking, patient-centered research.