"KISS OF DEATH" STATEMENTS
- National Institutes of Health
Whereas the results will not establish unequivocally any causal relationships in this
complex system, they may be expected to elucidate the significance of several
phenomena, which, on the basis of recent data, appear to be central to the type of
injury being studied.
The preliminary data are unclear, which is particularly serious in cases in which such
quantification would be essential for the planned studies.
Studies such as the kind proposed here are a fishing expedition and unjustified in
the context of a transmitter-related mechanism of action.
The very modest progress made on this project during the last three years is the
cause for serious concern.
Both the experimental design and the written description of it, like many other
aspects of this application, do not make it clear that these investigators would be
capable of addressing their stated specific aims in either a rigorous or a timely
manner.
The experiments proposed are premature and should be based on the results of
simpler experiments not proposed.
The proposed investigation seems to be a rather large undertaking that may
produce some new results but would not get at the mechanisms underlying the
principal investigator's earlier observation.
The proposed approach would not get at the mechanism, but would entail an
incredible amount of work.
The accomplishments of the previous funding period are clearly described in a
rather extensive progress report, which reflects considerable progress.
Unfortunately, however, only one of the reported publications appears to be
directly related—and that is to only one small part of one of the three specific aims.
The complexity of the system and the number of variables involved make the
proposed model less than ideal, particularly since some areas of potential concern
were not discussed.
Lack of pilot data to support the hypotheses proposed dampened enthusiasm and
led the study section to the conclusion that the application is premature.
The proposed experiments are not particularly novel and are unlikely to advance
this area of research significantly.
The proposed project is largely empirical.
The project is largely a characterization of an in vitro phenomenon without any
strong hypothesis about what the physiological orpathophysiological significance
of this phenomenon might be.
Overall, some descriptive information would be obtained.
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