NIH Loan Repayment Programs Now Accepting Applications
The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. The escalating costs of advanced education and training in medicine and clinical specialties are forcing some scientists to abandon their research careers for higher-paying private industry or private practice careers.
The LRPs counteract that financial pressure by repaying up to $100,000 (over two years) of a researcher’s qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research. Since tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs will be made by investigators starting in their research careers today, the LRPs represent an important investment by NIH in the future of health discovery and the wellbeing of the Nation. There are five extramural LRPs to consider:
- Clinical Research Extramural LRP: Patient-oriented research conducted with human subjects;
- Pediatric Research Extramural LRP: Research that is directly related to diseases, disorders, and other conditions in children;
- Health Disparities Research Extramural LRP: Research that focuses on minority and other health disparity populations;
- Contraception and Infertility Research Extramural LRP: Research on conditions impacting the ability conceive and bear young; and,
- Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds Extramural LRP: Available to clinical investigators from disadvantaged backgrounds.
To qualify, applicants must be a US citizen or permanent resident, have a doctoral-level degree, and have educational loan debt exceeding 20% of your annual institutional base salary.
Interested in applying? The application deadline is Nov. 17.
Here are some helpful resources:
Download the LRP Application Instruction Booklet
Review the Tips for Completing a Competitive Application
Check out the Ambassador Program that helps pair applicants with past and present LRP awardees.
Visit www.lrp.nih.gov for more details and to apply. For additional assistance, call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at 866-849-4047 or lrp@nih.gov, Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST. You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for more information and cycle updates.