and Human Services (HHS)
EXTRAMURAL LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR CONTRACEPTION AND INFERTILITY
RESEARCHERS
RELEASE DATE: October 22, 2003
NOTICE: NOT-HD-04-001
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
(http://www.nichd.nih.gov; http://www.lrp.nih.gov)
APPLICATION PERIOD: September 1, 2003, through 5 PM EST, December 31, 2003
THIS NOTICE ADDRESSES THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:
o Purpose of this Notice
o Program Objectives
o Funds Available
o Eligible Applicants
o Eligible Institutions
o Where to Send Inquiries
o Submitting a New Application
o Receipt and Peer Review Process
o Application Materials
o Submitting a Renewal Application
o Receipt and Peer Review Process
o Application Materials
o Receipt, Review and Award Schedule for New and Renewal Applications
o Award Criteria for New and Renewal Applications
o Required Federal Citations
PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD),
National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the 2004 Extramural Loan
Repayment Program for Contraception and Infertility Research (CIR-LRP). The
CIR-LRP provides for the repayment of educational loan debt of up to $35,000
annually for qualified health professionals conducting contraception and/or
infertility research for domestic non-profit or government entities. In
addition, NICHD will cover up to 39 percent of the Federal tax liability
resulting from loan repayment, and may also provide reimbursement for state
and local tax liabilities. Participants contract to conduct research for 50
percent of their time, or not less than 20 hours per week based upon a 40
hour week, for a two-year period.
CIR-LRP applications will be accepted September 1 through December 31, 2003.
They must be submitted via the NIH Loan Repayment Website,
http://www.lrp.nih.gov.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The objective of the program is to recruit and retain highly qualified health
and/or allied health professionals as contraception and infertility
investigators.
NIH defines infertility research as research whose long-range objective is to
evaluate, treat or ameliorate conditions which result in the failure of
couples to either conceive or bear young. Contraception research is defined
as research whose ultimate goal is to provide new or improved methods of
preventing pregnancy.
FUNDS AVAILABLE
The NICHD intends to commit approximately $1.5 million in Fiscal Year 2004 to
fund up to 20 CIR-LRP participants.
AWARD CRITERIA
For both new and renewal applications, awards will be based upon merit
scoring by peer review committees and the availability of funds.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Please note that the eligibility criteria for applicants to the CIR-LRP have
been expanded, making them consistent with the criteria for the other NIH
Extramural Loan Repayment Programs. Eligibility criteria for the CIR-LRP
include the following:
o Applicants must be United States citizens, nationals, or permanent
residents.
o Applicants must be a qualified health and/or allied health professional
including, but not limited to, physicians, Ph.D.-level scientists, nurses and
physician assistants, as well as graduate students and postgraduate research
fellows training in the health professions.
o Applicants must be (a) engaged in employment/training at an NICHD
intramural laboratory, or (b) engaged in qualifying research activities in a
qualified domestic non-profit institution (tax exempt under 26 USC 501) or a
Federal or domestic state or local government entity, and whose research is
supported by a non-profit foundation, non-profit professional association or
other non-profit entity, and devote at least 50 percent of their time (not
less than 20 hours per week based upon a 40 hour week) to contraception
and/or infertility research.
o Applicants must have total qualifying educational debt equal to at least 20
percent of their institutional base salary at the time of award (projected to
be between June 1 and August 1, 2004). An individual's institutional base
salary is the annual compensation that the applicant's organization pays for
the individual's appointment, whether that individual's time is spent on
research, teaching, patient care, or other activities. Base salary excludes
any income that an individual may be permitted to earn outside of the duties
to the applicant organization. It cannot include any income earned as a
Federal employee.
o The applicant's sponsoring entity must certify the applicant will receive
contraception/infertility research support for two years, the applicant will
engage in qualified contraception/infertility research for 50 percent or more
of his/her working hours (not less than 20 hours per week based upon a 40
hour week), and that the institution is an NICHD intramural laboratory or a
non-profit entity. The institution must also provide the applicant's base
salary.
o Applicants must agree to conduct research for which funding is not
prohibited by Federal law, regulations, or DHHS/NIH policy. Recipients who
receive LRP awards must conduct their research in accordance with applicable
Federal, state, and local law (e.g., applicable human subject protection
regulations).
o No individual may submit more than one LRP application to the NIH in any
fiscal year. Unsuccessful CIR-LRP applicants may reapply in subsequent
fiscal years.
o Any individual with a Federal judgment lien arising from a Federal debt
cannot receive program funds until the judgment is satisfied. Similarly,
individuals with existing service obligations to Federal, state or other
government entities remain ineligible until the service is discharged or
deferred during the LRP contract period.
o Recipients of postdoctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service
Award (NRSA) support from an individual postdoctoral fellowship (F32) or an
institutional research training grant (T32) will be eligible for loan
repayment during the second year of NRSA support if a formal extension of the
NRSA service payback is granted
(see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-109.html).
Concurrent repayment of LRP and NRSA service obligations is prohibited.
o Full-time employees of Federal government agencies are ineligible to apply
for NIH loan repayment. Part-time Federal employees employed by a Federal
agency 20 hours or less per week are eligible to apply if they meet all
other eligibility requirements, including commitment of at least 20 hours per
week based upon a 40 hour week in qualifying research for which they are not
compensated as a Federal employee.
Applicants will not be excluded from consideration on the basis of age, race,
culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit
factors.
WHERE TO SEND INQUIRIES
For questions on the CIR-LRP program, please see the LRP website at
http://www.lrp.nih.gov, send an email to [email protected], or call the LRP
helpline at (866) 849-4047.
Direct your remaining questions regarding your research project to the
relevant NIH scientific program contact listed on the LRP website at
http://www.lrp.nih.gov/contact/index.htm.
APPLICANTS' USE OF THE NIH-LRP WEBSITE
All applications must be submitted via the LRP Website at
http://www.lrp.nih.gov from September 1, 2003 through December 31, 2003 at 5
PM EST.
All applicants and renewal applicants are encouraged to review the
eligibility requirements, application procedures, and other participation
conditions for the CIR-LRP program located at the LRP website at
http://www.lrp.nih.gov.
RECEIPT AND PEER REVIEW (New and Renewal Applicants):
Upon receipt, applications for both initial awards and renewals will be
reviewed for eligibility and completeness by the NIH Loan Repayment Program.
Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered. Applications
that are complete and eligible will be forwarded to the NIH Center for
Scientific Review (CSR), which will assign the application to an NIH
Institute or Center for peer review. In evaluating applications, reviewers
will be directed to consider the following criteria:
a. Potential of the applicant to pursue a career in contraception and/or
infertility research:
o Appropriateness of the applicant's previous training and experience to
prepare him/her for a contraception and/or infertility research career.
o Suitability of the applicant's proposed contraception and/or infertility
research activities in the two-year loan repayment period.
o The applicant's stated commitment to a research career.
o Recommendations attesting to the applicant's potential for a research
career.
b. Quality of the applicant's overall research environment:
o Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and enhance
the applicant's research independence.
o Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.
APPLICATION MATERIALS (New and Renewal Applicants):
The following information is furnished by applicants or others on behalf of
applicants (forms are completed electronically at the NIH LRP Web-site,
http://www.lrp.nih.gov):
Applicants electronically transmit the following to the NIH Office of Loan
Repayment:
o Applicant information statement.
o Biosketch.
o Personal statement, which includes a discussion of career goals and
academic objectives.
o Description of research activities, which describes the current or proposed
research project including the specific responsibilities and role of the
applicant in conducting the research. The research supervisor or mentor will
be asked to concur.
o Identification of three recommenders (including research supervisor or
mentor).
o Identification of institutional contact.
o On-line certification.
o Loan information, including current account statement(s), and promissory
note(s) or disclosure statement(s), obtained from lending institution(s),
submitted via facsimile to 866-849-4046.
o If applying based on NIH support, Notice of Grant/Award (or PHS Form 2271
for Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA training fellowships).
Research supervisors or mentors electronically transmit the following to the
NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
o Recommendation.
o Biosketch.
o Assessment of the research activities statement submitted by the applicant.
o Description of the research environment, which provides detailed
information about the lab where the applicant is or will be conducting
research, including funding, lab space, and major areas under investigation.
o Training or mentoring plan, which includes a detailed discussion of the
training or mentoring plan, including a discussion of the research methods
and scientific techniques to be taught.
Recommenders electronically transmit recommendation forms to the NIH Office
of Loan Repayment.
Institutional contacts electronically transmit a certification to the NIH
Office of Loan Repayment that:
(a) assures the applicant will be provided the necessary time and resources
to engage in the research project for two years from the date a Loan
Repayment Program contract is executed;
(b) assures the applicant is or will be engaged in qualifying research for 50
percent of their work effort or not less than 20 hours per week based upon a
40 hour week;
(c) certifies the sponsoring entity is a domestic non-profit institution
(exempt from tax under 26 USC 501); and
(d) identifies the applicant's institutional base salary.
RENEWAL APPLICATIONS
Recipients who wish to extend their NIH loan repayment should reapply during
the 2004 application cycle if their initial LRP contract began in 2002.
LRP renewal contracts are available for one- and two-year periods and are
based upon the same criteria as the initial contract. An explanation of
research accomplishments during the initial award period is required.
Progress toward development as an independent investigator is a major factor
in awarding renewal of loan repayment support. Submission of a renewal
application does not assure the award of benefits.
RECEIPT AND REVIEW SCHEDULE
Application Receipt Date: September 1, 2003-December 31, 2003, 5 P.M. EST
Peer Review Date: March-May, 2004
Anticipated Award Date: June-September, 2004
CITATIONS OF FEDERAL AUTHORITY
Awards are made pursuant to the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-
43), adding section 487B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, Loan
Repayment Program for Research with Respect to Contraception and Infertility,
42 U.S.C. 288-2. Subsequently, section 410 (b) the Health Professions
Education Partnership Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 105-392) amended 487B of the PHS
Act to increase the maximum annual loan repayment from $20,000 to $35,000.
The Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act of 1990, contained in Public Law
101-647, requires that an individual who has a judgment lien against his/her
property for a debt to the United States shall not be eligible to receive
funds directly from the Federal government in any program, except funds to
which the debtor is entitled as a beneficiary, until the judgment is paid in
full or otherwise satisfied (28 USC 3201). The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance number for the LRP for Contraception and Infertility Research is
93.209.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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