The
purpose of the Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program
for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds is to encourage the
recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals from
disadvantaged backgrounds to conduct clinical research. Clinical
research consists of patient-oriented clinical research conducted
with human subjects, or research on the causes and consequences
of disease in human populations involving material of human origin
(such as tissue specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which the
investigator or colleague directly interacts with human subjects
in an outpatient or inpatient setting to clarify a problem in human
physiology, pathophysiology or disease, or epidemiologic or behavioral
studies, outcomes research or health services research, or developing
new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
To provide repayment of
existing educational loan debt incurred by health professionals
from disadvantaged backgrounds engaged in clinical research. Recipients
must execute a written contract agreeing to engage in such research
for a minimum of two years. The Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services, or the Secretary's designee, may grant extension
contracts for one-year periods after the completion of the initial
two-year contract, provided that the participant applies for an
extension, continues to engage in qualified research, and there
is sufficient repayable debt remaining.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility:
An eligible applicant must: (1) be a citizen, national, or permanent
resident of the United States; (2) have a Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.D.S.,
D.M.D., Psy.D., Pharm.D., N.D., Sc.D., or other equivalent doctorate
degree; (3) Participants must come from a disadvantaged background;
(4) have qualifying outstanding educational loan debt equal to or
in excess of a certain percentage of the applicant's annual salary,
stipend, and compensation at the time an application is submitted;
(5) not be an employee of NIH; (6) have research sponsors or mentors
with experience in the area of proposed research and may be enrolled
in a training program or appointed under a temporary or permanent
employment mechanism for at least two years; (7) have institutional
assurance of employment or affiliation with an institution or program
for a minimum of two years; (8) agree to conduct qualified clinical
research for a minimum of two years; (9) not be under any existing
service obligations to Federal, State, or other entities, unless
and until the existing service obligation is discharged or deferred
during the period of program service; and (10) not have Federal
judgment liens against their property arising from a Federal debt
from receiving Federal funds until all judgments have been paid
in full or otherwise satisfied.
Beneficiary Eligibility:
Qualified health professionals from a disadvantaged background
who conduct clinical research and who possess substantial unpaid
educational debt relative to income will benefit from this program.
Credentials/Documentation:
An applicant must submit the following documentation: (1) all
required forms, completed, signed and dated; (2) proposed research
and training plan; (3) the credentials or curriculum vitae of
the applicant and all mentors/advisors; (4) a description of the
research/training environment; (5) institutional assurance; (6)
loan verification forms for each educational loan being submitted
for repayment along with corresponding promissory notes, loan
applications and school budgets; (7) recommendations; (8) contract;
and (9) other documentation as may be required by law, regulation,
or guidelines.
Pre-application
Coordination: Not applicable. This program is
excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure:
An application for participation in the program can be obtained
from www.lrp.nih.gov and should be submitted to the NIH office,
which is responsible for the receipt of applications, in such
form and manner as the Secretary or the authorized designee may
prescribe.
Award Procedure:
All eligible and completed applications will be forwarded to the
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD)
Loan Repayment Review Panel (Panel), chaired by the Deputy Director,
NCMHD, for review. Awards will be made to those applications approved
by the Panel, subject to the receipt of an appropriation and/or
allocation of funds from the United States Congress, the NIH and/or
the NCMHD. All selections are subject to final approval by the
Secretary or the authorized designee.
Deadlines:
Contact the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
listed below for application deadlines.
Range of Approval/Disapproval
Time: The approximate time for approval/disapproval
is 5-6 months.
Appeals:
Applicants may question the substantive or procedural aspects
of the review of their application by communicating with NCMHD
staff. A description of the NIH Peer Review Appeal procedures
is available on the NIH home page http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not97-232.html.
Renewals:
After the completion of the initial two-year contract, participants
may apply for a one year extension contract provided the participant
continues to engage in qualified research and has outstanding
repayable debt remaining. Applications submitted for an extension
are reviewed and selected for funding on a competitive basis.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching
Requirements: This program has no statutory
formula or matching requirements.
Length and Time Phasing
of Assistance: An initial contract provides
assistance for a two year period, and an extension contract provides
for assistance for a one year period. Program 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 or authorized designee.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Participants must be periodically certified to have satisfactorily
performed the duties of their positions.
Audits:
Not applicable. This program has no statutory audit requirements.
Records:
The NCMHD will retain applicant records for three years after
rejection and participant records for six years after completion
of final service obligation.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification:
75-0897-0-1-552.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $1,388,116; FY 02 est $1,950,000; and FY 03 est
$2,056,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
The dollar assistance range for the two year contract period was
from $21,335 to $70,000 in loan repayments, and from $8,321 to
$27,300 in tax reimbursements in FY 01. The average dollar assistance
of awards made for FY 01 were $58,153 in loan repayments
and $23,501 in tax reimbursements.
For fiscal year 2001,
the first year in which funding was available,the NCMHD received
24 applications and made 17 awards. It is anticipated that the NCMHD
will make 25 awards for fiscal year 2002 and 27 awards for fiscal
year 2003.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND
LITERATURE:
Pertinent information
is contained in Public Law 106-554; Section 487E of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288-5).
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local
Office: Not applicable.
Headquarters Office:
Program and Business Contact: Kenya D. McRae, National Center
on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Loan Repayment Program,
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800, MSC 5465, Bethesda, MD 20892-5465.
Telephone Number: (301) 402-1366. Facsimile: (301) 480-4049. Email:
mcraek@od.nih.gov.
Web Site Address: http://ncmhd.nih.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
HIV-specific T-helper
and CTL responses in viral vertically infected children; Evaluations
of immunologic correlates of human papiloma virus infection and
disease progression; Treatment in children with congenital heart
disease; Oral disease and prevention amongst urban elderly populations;
Psoriasis phenotype and atopic dermatitis; Genetic epidemiology
and pathophysiological mechanisms of dyspepsia; Antiresorptive therapy
for osteopenia associated with chronically immobilized children
and adults with neuromuscular disease; Examining for the presence
of local hypoxia in chondrosarcoma as a potential mechanism; Cognitive
remediation program for childhood cancer survivors.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The major elements in
evaluating applications/proposals include the assessment of the
following: (1) personal statement; (2) proposed research project
and its scientific merit (priority will be given to biomedical and
behavioral researchers); (3) training plan and environment (which
includes the research program, the facilities/environment, the mentor/advisor's
training, the applicant's training); (4) loan debt ratio and any
associated impediments that may affect the applicant's decision
to pursue a research career; and (5) references.
