Scientific Review Branch (SRB)
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Varsha Shukla, Ph.D.
Deputy Branch Chief, Scientific Review Branch -
Tel 984-287-3288
Fax 301-480-5217
[email protected] -
P.O. Box 12233Mail Drop K3-05Durham, NC 27709
Varsha Shukla, Ph.D. is the Deputy Chief at Scientific Review Branch in the Division of Extramural Research and Training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), where she conducts reviews on a broad array of applications in Special Emphasis Panels, ranging from multicomponent complex mechanisms (P42, P2C, U2C) to various RFAs (R01/U01, R21, R25), Career grants (K99/R00, K03, K23, K12), NIEHS R&D Contracts Proposals and Loan Repayment (LRP) grant applications across broad area of science supported by NIEHS. Varsha Shukla, Ph.D. is also the Designated Federal Official (DFO) for the institute’s Chartered Review Committee, the Environmental Health Sciences Review Committee (EHSRC). This Committee reviews all P30 Core Center grant applications, and training grants applications (T32 and T35). As an SRO she manages a comprehensive scientific and technical merit review of applications, recruits expert panel members, and guides first-time reviewers through the peer review process. She has been mentoring junior SROs and continues to serve on various types of NIEHS and trans-NIH Committees.
Varsha Shukla, Ph.D. holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology and received her Ph.D. in neurobiology from Frankfurt University, Germany. Her graduate research focused on neural stem cells and adult neurogenesis. She joined NIH as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Neurochemistry (NINDS) where she studied the role of Cdk5 (a kinase) in neurodegeneration (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and aging). She published extensively and has an NIH patent. Varsha Shukla, Ph.D. moved to science administration and started her tenure as an SRO in the Review Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She reviewed highly visible and prominent programs like the BRAIN Initiative; Institutional Research Training grants and Cooperative Agreements along with assembling Special Emphasis Panels for various RFAs and PARs. Prior to her graduate studies, Varsha Shukla, Ph.D. worked (2000-2002) in the drug discovery and development unit of a leading pharmaceutical company in India, Dabur Research Foundation, where she was responsible for the research and development of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.