Panel Chairperson

Role Description: This is a part-time position. The Panel Chairperson provides independent leadership for scientific and technical merit peer review panels supporting breast cancer research and education funding programs. The Chairperson ensures that panel deliberations are fair, objective, thorough, and consistent with established review criteria and scoring procedures. Serving as the meeting leader and primary facilitator, the Chairperson guides discussion to achieve balanced participation, maintains focus on evaluation standards, and ensures that final scores reflect the panel’s consensus and are aligned with reviewer critiques.

Key Responsibilities: Panel Leadership & Meeting Facilitation Lead panel meetings (virtual or in-person) and facilitate structured deliberations for all assigned breast cancer applications. Establish a professional, respectful meeting environment and manage time to ensure the panel completes all reviews within the scheduled agenda. Ensure balanced participation by encouraging input from all panel members and preventing dominance by any single reviewer. Keep discussions focused on established review criteria and evidence presented in the application and critiques. Coordinate closely with peer review administration staff during the meeting to resolve procedural questions and keep the panel on track. Scientific Oversight & Evaluation Integrity Ensure that each application receives a rigorous, criteria-based discussion and that panel evaluations remain objective and free of bias. Confirm that assigned reviewers present clear summaries of strengths and weaknesses and that discussion addresses all required evaluation elements. Ensure that conflicts of interest are respected during discussion and scoring (e.g., conflicted reviewers do not participate in deliberations). Promote consistent scoring practices and confirm that final scores are supported by the discussion and aligned with written critiques. Support appropriate integration of scientific, technical, and (as applicable) patient/survivor/advocacy perspectives while maintaining scientific rigor. Serve as an active scoring member of the panel and submit required scores for assigned applications. Ensure required application discussion structure is followed, and confirm the final score reflects the panel’s consensus and aligns with documented critiques. Pre-Meeting Preparation Review panel materials in advance, including scoring guidance, review criteria, meeting agenda, and application assignments. Participate in orientation sessions and pre-briefs to align on procedures, timing, scoring approach, and meeting expectations. Identify potential issues in advance (e.g., unclear assignments, procedural risks, timing constraints) and coordinate mitigations with peer review administration staff. Post-Meeting Wrap-Up & Documentation Support Validate that all applications have complete discussions and that required scores are submitted for each application. Support resolution of scoring anomalies or documentation gaps identified immediately following the meeting (e.g., missing score sheets, inconsistencies). Provide feedback to peer review administration staff on process improvements, panel flow, and reviewer onboarding/training needs.