April 16, 2021

Erin E. Bonar, Ph.D., selected member of the NIH’s Community Influences on Health Behavior Study Section

Dr. Erin Bonar, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the U-M Addiction Center, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Community Influences on Health Behavior Study Section (CIHB), Center for Scientific Review. Her term will begin July 01, 2021 and end June 30, 2025.

The CIHB Study Section reviews applications concerned with how community-level factors prevent or moderate health risks and behaviors. The applications may examine community-level social, cultural, and environmental risk factors and processes and their relationships with a broad range of outcomes. Outcomes include mental and physical health, illness and disorder, risk and protective factors, behavior change, health beliefs and attitudes, and normal development and functioning across the lifespan as they directly relate to community-level risk factors.

CIHB Study Section members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

“Service on a study section requires mature judgment and objectivity as well as the ability to work effectively in a group, qualities we believe Dr. Bonar will bring to this important task,” says Noni Byrnes, Ph.D., Director, Center for Scientific Review.

Membership on a study section represents a major commitment of professional time and energy as well as a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort. Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on these applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of research in their fields of science. These functions are of great value to medical and allied research in this country.

“It a tremendous honor to be nominated and selected to serve NIH in this important endeavor,” says Dr. Bonar. “I have served with the CIHB study section as an ad hoc reviewer, and am excited to continue collaborating with other scientists to advance NIH’s contributions to community health.”