Qin joins NIH review committee

The accolades continue for Dr. Chunlin Qin, professor in biomedical sciences at Texas A&M College of Dentistry, whose research expertise has been tapped for a national appointment.

The Center for Scientific Review – the gateway for National Institutes of Health grant applications and their review for scientific merit – invited Qin to serve as a member of the Skeletal Biology Development and Disease Study Section. His term, which began this month, runs through 2021.

Selection is based on research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals and other significant scholarly activities and achievements, according to Dr. Richard Nakamura, center director. “Service on a study section also requires mature judgment and objectivity as well as the ability to work effectively in a group, qualities we believe Dr. Qin will bring to this important task,” wrote Nakamura in a letter to Dean Lawrence Wolinsky.

Dr. Lynne Opperman, Regents Professor and department head of biomedical sciences, says, “Dr. Qin’s high scientific and ethical standards equip him well for this elite role with the Center for Scientific Review. His recent service as chair of two successful departmental search committees also demonstrates his strength as a team leader.”

The center organizes the scientific peer groups, or study sections, that review approximately 75 percent of the research grant applications sent to the NIH. During his tenure with the study section, Qin will make recommendations on the applications and survey the status of research in his field of science.

Earlier this year, Qin was named to the first class of Texas A&M University’s Presidential Impact Fellows. In 2016 he received the Distinguished Scientist Award for Pulp Biology and Regeneration from the International Association for Dental Research.