To recruit and retain health professionals performing
research in fields required by the NIH to carry out its mission by providing
educational loan repayment for participants with substantial amounts of
educational debt relative to income, who agree by written contract to engage
in laboratory or clinical research as employees of the NIH for a minimum
3-year period.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
To provide repayment of extant educational loans incurred by health
professionals engaged, as employees of the NIH, in laboratory or clinical
research. Recipients must agree by written contract to engage in such
research, initially, for a minimum of 3 years; individuals who have
conflicting service obligations may not participate in this program until
those obligations are satisfied or have been deferred during the period of
program service. Continuation contracts for 1-year terms are available,
dependent upon the level of debt and continued involvement in research that
supports the research and institutional needs and the mission of the NIH.
Maximum program benefit is $35,000 per year in loan repayments and $13,650 per
year in Federal tax reimbursements. Recipients must have qualified educational
debt in excess of 20 percent of their annual salary, which is referred to as
their "debt threshold." An amount equal to half of this "debt
threshold" will not be repaid by NIH and must be paid by the program
participants.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: Eligible applicants must: (1)
Be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States; (2)
possess a M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.P.M., A.D.N., B.S.N.,
or equivalent degree; (3) have qualified educational debt, which results from
governmental or commercial loans obtained to support their undergraduate
and/or graduate education, in excess of 20 percent of their annual NIH salary
on the program eligibility date; (4) be appointed to the NIH under any
temporary or permanent employment mechanism, so long as the employment has the
potential to last a minimum of three years; (5) not be under any existing
service obligation to Federal, State, or other entities, until such obligation
is discharged or unless it is deferred during the period of program service;
(6) submit an application to participate in the Loan Repayment Program for
Research; and (7) sign and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, at the time of application submission, a contract agreeing to engage
in research as an employee of the NIH for a minimum of 3 years.
Beneficiary Eligibility: NIH researchers who
possess substantial unpaid educational debt relative to income will benefit
from this program.
Credentials/Documentation: Applicants must submit
documentation of the following, as appropriate: (1) Copies of loan
applications and agreements from government or commercial educational loans
which are being submitted for repayment; (2) copies of the standard student
budget from each school attended during the period in which the debt was
incurred; and (3) other documentation as may be required.
Pre-application Coordination: None. This program is
excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure: Applicants must access and
submit the Loan Repayment Program application electronically via the website
www.lrp.nih.gov; seek qualified employment with a sponsoring Institute or
Center (IC) of the NIH. Once an application has been submitted, the Loan
Repayment Committee reviews it at a regularly scheduled review meeting and a
determination of loan repayment recipients is made.
Award Procedure: The NIH Loan Repayment Committee
(LRC) will review, rank, and approve or disapprove applications recommended
for program participation by each Institute or Center (IC). Applications
approved for participation by the LRC will be notified by the Program
Director. The Secretary, or his designee, will sign the service contract of
program participants, provide a copy to the participant, and notice of the
amount of approved loan repayment.
Deadlines: Review the Loan Repayment Program
website www.lrp.nih.gov, or contact the Headquarters Office listed below for
the application deadlines.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: The
approximate time for approval/disapproval is 3 months.
Appeals: None.
Renewals: At the conclusion of the initial 3-year
contract, participants may apply and be considered for subsequent 1-year
continuation contracts under the application and approval procedures specified
above.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements: This program has
no statutory formula or matching requirements.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Assistance
is available for a minimum 3-year period. One-year continuation contracts are
available for individuals whose educational debt exceeds the maximum repayable
amount for 3 years. Payments will be made directly to lenders, following each
quarter of the participant's satisfactory service, unless otherwise agreed
upon by the participant and Secretary of Health and Human Services.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: Program participants must be periodically
certified to have satisfactorily performed the duties of their positions.
Audits: None.
Records: The NIH will maintain applicant records
for 3 years after rejection and participant records for 6 years after
completion of final service obligation.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification: 75-0846-0-1-552.
Obligations: (Loan Repayments) FY 01 $3,117,671;
FY 02 est $1,490,000; and FY 03 est $1,490,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance: (Loan
repayments) From $17,545 to $105,000; $57,258. (Tax reimbursements) From
$6,843 to $40,950; Average: $22,331.
Forty-four awards were made in fiscal year 2001. It is anticipated that 38
awards will be made in fiscal year 2002 and 38 awards are anticipated in
fiscal year 2003.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Pertinent information is contained in Public Law 103-43, Section 1631; Section
487C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288-3); Public Law 105-392;
and Federal Register, Volume 59, No. 201, October 19, 1994. Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking is pending.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office: Not applicable.
Headquarters Office: Program and Business
Contact: Marc S. Horowitz, J.D., Office of Loan Repayment and Scholarship,
National Institutes of Health, 2 Center Drive, Room 2E24, Bethesda, MD
20892-0230. LRP Helpline: 866-849-4047. Facsimile: 866-849-4046.
Web Site Address: www.lrp.nih.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Implementation of studies on the mood and anxiety
disorders in children and adolescents. Evaluation of the effects of
radiation-induced cell damage. Identification of the specific and unique
markers for the human marrow stromal fibroblasts (HMSFs) colonies which give
rise to bone, at the DNA and protein levels. Investigation of the molecular
mechanisms responsible for RNA syntheses by RNA polymerase III; development of
Human Artificial Chromosome Vectors for use in gene transfer studies; and
application of gene transfer strategies to clinical manifestations of genetic
diseases.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Applicants are approved for participation in the NIH
General Research Loan Repayment Program after the LRC determines that the
applicant will conduct qualified research and has qualifying educational debt.
LRC approval, in part, is based upon the scientific merit of the research, its
priority to the research institutes, and the credentials of the applicant.
