and Human Services (HHS)
NIH EXTRAMURAL LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM REGARDING CLINICAL RESEARCHERS
RELEASE DATE: October 10, 2002
NOTICE: NOT-OD-03-004
National Institutes of Health
APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE: 5 PM EST, November 30, 2002
THIS NOTICE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
o Purpose of this Notice
o Program Objectives
o Funds Available
o Eligible Applicants
o Eligible Institutions
o Where to Send Inquiries
o Submitting an Application
o Receipt and Peer Review Process
o Receipt, Review and Award Schedule
o Award Criteria
o Required Federal Citations
PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the 2003 Extramural
Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR). The LRP-CR
provides for the repayment of educational loan debt of qualified health
professionals who agree to conduct clinical research for two years.
The program provides for the repayment of up to $35,000 of the
principal and interest of the educational loans. The program covers
the Federal taxes on the loan repayments which are considered taxable
income to program participants.
The 2003 LRP-CR differs from the 2002 program in that the awards are no
longer restricted to NIH grantees, as described below in the
eligibility criteria.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The objective of the Program is the recruitment and retention of highly
qualified health professionals to careers as clinical investigators.
Clinical research is defined as follows: "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 an 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 epidemiological or
behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or
developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical
trials."
The NIH invites qualified health professionals who meet program
eligibility requirements to apply for participation in the NIH Loan
Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers.
FUNDS AVAILABLE
The NIH intends to commit approximately $40,800,000 in Fiscal Year 2003
to fund 790 Clinical Research LRP awards.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Specific eligibility criteria for the LRP-CR include the following:
Applicants must be United States citizens, nationals, or
permanent residents.
Applicants must have an M.D., Ph.D., Pharm.D., D.O., D.D.S.,
D.M.D., D.P.M., D.C., N.D., or equivalent doctoral degree from an
accredited institution.
Applicants must be supported by a non-profit institution,
foundation, professional society or U.S. government entity
(Federal, state, or local) and commit 50% or more of their time,
or not less than 20 hours per week, to clinical research.
Applicants must have total qualifying educational debt that is
greater than or equal to 20 percent of their institutional base
salary at the time of award, expected to be between June 1 and
August 1, 2003. Institutional base is the annual amount that the
organization pays for the participant's appointment, whether the
time is spent in research, teaching, patient care, or other
activities. Institutional base salary excludes any income that a
participant may earn outside the duties of the organization.
Institutional base salary may not include or be comprised of any
income (salary or wages) earned as a Federal employee.
The applicant's institution must provide assurance to the NIH
that the applicant will be provided clinical research support for
two years, that the applicant will engage in qualified clinical
research for 50% or more of his/her time, or not less than 20
hours per week, and that the institution is non-profit. The
institution also certifies the applicant's institutional base
salary.
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).
No individual may submit more than one LRP application to the NIH
in any fiscal year. Individuals who have applied previously for
the LRP-CR but did not receive an award are eligible to submit a
new application if they meet the above eligibility criteria.
Any individual who has a Federal judgment lien against his/her
property arising from a Federal debt is barred from receiving
Federal funds, until the judgment is paid in full or satisfied.
Individuals with existing service obligations to Federal, State
or other entities will not be considered for an award unless the
existing service is discharged or deferred for the duration of
the Loan Repayment contract.
A current recipient of postdoctoral National Research Service Award
support from an individual postdoctoral fellowship (F32) or an
institutional research training grant (T32) will not be eligible for
loan repayment during the second year of NRSA support without a formal
deferral of the NRSA service repayment (see
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-109.html).
Concurrent repayment of service obligations is prohibited.
Participation in an NIH LRP is only permissible by first satisfying the
NRSA service obligation, which is satisfied either by completing the
second year of NRSA support or by requesting a deferral of the NRSA
service repayment. For more information on terms and conditions for
specific types of grants, grantees, and activities, see Subpart B, Part
II of the NIH Grants Policy Statement
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2001/part_iib_5.htm#_Toc504812118).
Full-time employees of Federal government agencies are ineligible
to apply for LRP benefits. Part-time Federal employees who
engage in qualifying research as part of their non-Federal duties
for an outside entity for at least 20 hours per week are eligible
to apply for loan repayment if they meet all other eligibility
requirements.
Applicants will not be excluded from consideration under the
Program on the basis of age, race, culture, religion, gender,
sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.
ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS
Applicants must conduct qualifying research supported by a non-profit
foundation, non-profit professional society or other non-profit
institution or a U.S. government entity (Federal, state, or local). A
foundation, professional society or institution is considered to be
non-profit if exempt from Federal tax under the provisions of Section
501 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 501).
WHERE TO SEND INQUIRIES
For questions on the LRP-CR program, please see the LRP website at
www.lrp.nih.gov, send an email to [email protected] or telephone the LRP
helpline at (866) 849-4047.
Direct your remaining questions regarding scientific matters to the
relevant NIH program contact listed on the LRP website at
http://www.lrp.nih.gov/contact/index.htm.
SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION
All potential applicants are encouraged to read the eligibility
requirements, benefits, and application procedures for the LRP-CR
program located at the LRP website at www.lrp.nih.gov.
Applications are collected electronically and must be submitted via the
LRP Website at www.lrp.nih.gov by November 30, 2002 at 5 PM EST.
RECEIPT AND PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Complete applications must be received by the receipt date and time
listed in the heading of this Notice.
Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for eligibility and
completeness by the Office of Loan Repayment, NIH. Incomplete or
ineligible applications will not be considered. Applications that are
complete and eligible will be referred to the appropriate NIH Institute
for peer review by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). In
evaluating the application, reviewers will be directed to consider the
following components as they relate to the likelihood that the
applicant will continue in a clinical research career:
a. Potential of the applicant to pursue a career in clinical research.
o Appropriateness of the applicant's previous training and
experience to prepare him/her for a clinical research career.
o Suitability of the applicant's proposed clinical research
activities in the two-year loan repayment period to foster a
research career.
o Assessment of the applicant's commitment to a research career as
reflected by the personal statement of long-term career goals and
the plan outlined to achieve those goals.
o Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant's potential
for a research career.
b. Quality of the overall environment to prepare the applicant for a
clinical research career.
o Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve
and/or enhance the applicant's research independence.
o Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and
facilities.
The following information is furnished by the applicant or others on
behalf of the applicant (forms are completed electronically at the NIH
LRP Web-site, www.lrp.nih.gov):
Applicants electronically transmit the following to the NIH Office of
Loan Repayment:
1. Applicant Information Statement
2. Biosketch
3. Personal Statement, which includes a discussion of career goals
and academic objectives.
4. 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 in the research project
description provided by the applicant.
5. Identification of Three Recommenders (One of whom is identified
as research supervisor or mentor).
6. Identification of Institutional Contact
7. On-line Certification
8. 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
9. If applying based on NIH support, Notice of Grant/Award (or PHS
2271 for T32 recipients)
Research supervisors or mentors electronically transmit the following
to the NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
1. Recommendation
2. Biosketch
3. Assessment of the Research Activities Statement submitted by
the applicant
4. 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.
5. 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. This document is completed by the research supervisor
or mentor and is submitted for all applicants (except for
applicants with an NIH R01 equivalent grant).
6. Biosketch of a laboratory staff member if involved in
training or mentoring the applicant.
The other recommenders electronically transmit recommendations to the
NIH Office of Loan Repayment.
Institutional Contacts electronically transmit the following to the
NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
1. A certification 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 that 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; (c) certifies
that the institution is non-profit (exempt from tax under 26 USC
501), and (d) provides the applicant's institutional base salary.
RECEIPT AND REVIEW SCHEDULE
Application Receipt Date: November 30, 2002, 5 PM EST
Peer Review Date: March-May, 2003
Anticipated Start Date: June-August, 2003
AWARD CRITERIA
Award criteria that will be used to make award decisions include:
o Merit (as determined by peer review)
o Availability of funds
REQUIRED FEDERAL CITATIONS
Awards are made pursuant to the Public Health Improvement Act of
November 2000 (Public Law 106-505), also known as the Clinical Research
Enhancement Act, which added Section 487F of the Public Health Service
(PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 288-5a). The Federal Debt Collections Procedures
Act of 1990, contained in Public Law 101-647, requires that an
individual that 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 Clinical Researchers is 93.280.
So in law. There are two sections 487F. Section 205 of Public Law 106-505
(114 Stat. 2329), inserted section 487F after section 487E. Previously,
section 1002(b) of Public Law 106-310 (114 Stat. 1129), which relates to a
Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program, inserted section 487F after
section 487E.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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