Jacobson Named Director of CSR Division

Dr. Ray Jacobson

Dr. Ray Jacobson has been named director of the Center for Scientific Review’s Division of Basic and Integrative Biological Sciences.

He joined CSR in 2009 as a scientific review officer in the bioengineering sciences and technologies integrated review group (IRG). In 2015, he became chief of the biological chemistry and macromolecular biophysics IRG, overseeing a staff of 14 and 11 standing or recurring special emphasis panels. 

At CSR, he has led the best practices committee, which highlights and clarifies current review policies for scientific review officers. Additionally, he has led pilot studies of changes to the review process, led the review of high-profile initiatives such as the Big Data to Knowledge program and the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Awards and served as CSR liaison to other parts of NIH and other government agencies.

Before joining CSR, Jacobson was an assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where his research focused on structural and biophysical aspects of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II general transcription machinery. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and did postdoctoral research in the molecular and cell biology department at the University of California, Berkeley.