Anita Corman Weinblatt, Ph.D.
Director of Scientific Review
Washington DC Office

Over the years, Dr. Anita Corman Weinblatt has become a great friend of the immunology community, having served as a health science administrator for over 20 years, including 13 years as a Scientific Review Administrator at the National Institutes of Health. She has won the respect of many in the community based upon her thoughtfulness and dedication to efficient peer-review, one of the fundamental tenets of academic science. She views herself as an advocate for the applicant.

Dr. Weinblatt completed her Ph.D. in physiology at Tufts University and completed postdoctoral work at both University of Pittsburgh and in the intramural program of the National Institutes of Health ( NIH). In 1986, she joined the NIH as a Scientific Review Administrator (SRA) in the Division of Research Grants (now the Center for Scientific Review). As SRA of the Immunological Sciences Study Section, she specialized in the review of applications that utilized animal models and/or human clinical investigations to advance the understanding and treatment options for immunologically based diseases, including autoimmune diseases and clinical hypersensitivity.

Rising through the NIH ranks, Anita held the position of Chief of the Immunological Sciences Initial Review Group (IRG) at the Center for Scientific Review, in which she was responsible for the operations of the Immunology IRG, composed of all of the immunology study sections and the IRG’s administrative support. Her final position at the NIH was as a special program manager for the Director of the Center for Scientific Review. In this position, among other projects, she played a key role in developing expedited grant review processes, including the Hyperaccelerated Award for funding mechanistic studies for already-funded clinical trials for immunomodulatory interventions. In addition, Anita served on a variety of trans-NIH committees and has worked closely with the Office of Research for Women’s Health.

Dr. Weinblatt has been with the ITN since its inception. She is responsible for the ITN’s unique peer-review process, a system that has benefited from her depth of experience. Fairness, openness, speed and interactivity are the bases upon which she has designed the system, and she is continually examining and refining the process to ensure that it provides the best possible review for projects submitted to the ITN.