Notice Number: NOT-OD-13-081
Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:
Key Dates
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Application Period: Annually from September 1 through November 15, at 8:00 PM EST.
Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Purpose
This Notice replaces NOT-OD-12-123, and provides program specific information for Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR). The overall purpose of the extramural LRP is the recruitment and retention of highly qualified health professionals as research investigators to careers in research. Additional detailed Information about each LRP is provided at http://www.lrp.nih.gov/about_the_programs/index.aspx. The NIH invites qualified health professionals who contractually agree to engage in NIH mission-relevant research for at least two years, and who agree to engage in such research for at least 20 hours per week based on a 40-hour work week, to apply for participation in the extramural LRP. Extramural LRPs provide for the repayment of educational loan debt of up to $35,000 annually for qualified health professionals performing research within the mission of NIH at domestic, non-profit, or government entities. LRP applications will be accepted annually from September 1 through November 15, 8:00 p.m. EST. Applications must be submitted electronically using the NIH Loan Repayment Program Website, www.lrp.nih.gov.
LRP-CR Program Objective
The objective of the LRP-CR program is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals as clinical investigators.
NIH defines clinical research as "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."
Eligible Applicants
All eligible individuals, including women, individuals from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for loan repayment.
Eligibility criteria with regard to participation in the extramural LRPs include the following:
The following individuals are ineligible for participation in the extramural LRPs:
Funds Available
The NIH intends to commit approximately $40 million annually to fund LRP-CR contracts.
Where to Obtain Additional Information: Please see the LRP website at http://www.lrp.nih.gov, send an email to lrp@nih.gov, or call the Division of Loan Repayment Information Center toll free at (866) 849-4047. Applicants are strongly encouraged to pay attention to Institute or Center (IC) specific funding priorities, and also to discuss their career interests with an IC scientific liaison (contact), using this link: LRP Contacts Website. As an applicant, you may request assignment and review by a particular IC if you are applying for the Clinical Research LRP. While NIH will consider the applicant’s request, it reserves the right to assign the application to an appropriate IC based on the scientific research topic(s).
All applicants are encouraged to view this webinar for application tips and guidance.
Annual Receipt, Peer Review, and Review Schedule: Upon receipt, applications for both initial and renewal awards will be reviewed for eligibility and completeness. Incomplete or ineligible applications will not be considered. Applications that are complete and eligible will be forwarded for peer review.
Applicants electronically transmit the following to the NIH Division of Loan Repayment:
Research supervisors or mentors electronically transmit the following to the NIH Division of Loan Repayment:
Recommenders electronically transmit recommendation forms to the NIH Division of Loan Repayment.
Information is obtained from Individuals who can comment on the research skills and the abilities of the applicant. This includes the applicants research supervisor or most recent mentor and includes the following:
Institutional contacts electronically transmit a certification to the NIH Division of Loan Repayment that:
Renewal Applications
Loan repayment recipients who wish to extend their loan repayment should reapply the year before the current contract ends. LRP renewal contracts are available for one- and two-year periods and are based upon the same criteria as the initial application plus two additional criteria an assessment of research accomplishments, and development of an individual as an independent investigator. 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. Renewal LRP awards are competitive and submission of a renewal application does not assure the award of loan repayment.
Evaluation Criteria
Applications for the extramural LRP are evaluated against the following criteria as related to the likelihood that the applicant will continue in a career focused on research in one of the above five program areas:
Applicant’s potential to pursue a career in research, including:
Quality of the overall environment to prepare the applicant for a research career, including:
For renewal applications (also known as type 2 applications), progress under the previous project period is an additional evaluation criterion:
Program Administration Details
Under the LRP, the NIH will repay a portion of the extant qualified educational loan debt incurred to pay for the researcher’s undergraduate, graduate, and/or health professional school educational expenses. Failure to fulfill the terms of the LRP contract will result in termination of the LRP, or could be considered a breach of contract. The penalty for a breach of contract is $7,500 for every month of unfulfilled service or a minimum of $31,000, whichever is higher.
LRP service obligation and NRSA service payback cannot overlap, and permission to defer NRSA payback must be obtained prior to receipt of LRP funding.
The NIH will repay lenders for the extant principal, interest, and related expenses (such as the required insurance premiums on the unpaid balances of some loans) of educational loans from a U.S. government entity, academic institution, or a commercial or other chartered U.S. lending institution, such as banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, not-for-profit organizations, insurance companies, and other financial or credit institutions which are subject to examination and supervision in their capacity as lending institutions by an agency of the United States or of the State in which the lender has its principal place of business, obtained by participants for the following:
Repayments are made directly to lenders, following receipt of (1) the Principal Investigator, Program Director, or Research Supervisor's verification of completion of the prior period of research, and (2) lender verification of the crediting of prior loan repayments, including the resulting account balances and current account status. The NIH will repay loans in the following order, unless the Secretary determines that significant savings would result from a different order of priority:
1. Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
2. Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education:
3. Loans made or guaranteed by a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or possession of the United States
4. Loans made by academic institutions
5. Private ("Alternative") Educational Loans:
The following loans are NOT repayable under this program:
1. Loans not obtained from a U.S. or other government entity, academic institution, or a commercial or other chartered U.S. lending institution such as loans from friends, relatives, or other individuals, and non-educational loans, such as home equity loans.
2. Loans for which contemporaneous documentation (current account statement, and promissory note or lender disclosure statement) is not available.
3. Loans that have been consolidated with loans of other individuals, such as a spouse or child.
4. Loans or portions of loans obtained for educational or living expenses, which exceed a reasonable level, as determined by the standard school budget for the year in which the loan was made, and are not determined by the LRP to be reasonable based on additional contemporaneous documentation provided by the applicant.
5. Loans, financial debts, or service obligations incurred under the following programs, or other programs that incur a service obligation that converts to a loan on failure to satisfy the service obligation:
6. Delinquent loans, loans in default, or loans not current in their payment schedule
7. PLUS Loans to parents (PLUS Loans disbursed to graduate and professional students on or after July 1, 2006 quality for repayment)
8. Loans that have been paid in full
9. Loans obtained after the execution of the NIH Loan Repayment Program Contract (e.g., promissory note signed after the LRP contract has been awarded). This provision does not apply to qualifying loan consolidations.
Before the commencement of loan repayment, or during lapses in loan repayments, due to administrative complications, Leave Without Pay (LWOP), or a break in service, LRP participants are wholly responsible for making payments or other arrangements that maintain loans current, such that increases in either principal or interest do not occur. The LRP contract period will not be modified or extended as a result of LWOP or a break in service. Penalties and/or fees assessed to participants failing to maintain current payment status may not be considered for reimbursement.
LRP payments are NOT retroactive. Loan repayment will commence after a loan repayment contract has been executed, expected to be no earlier than July through September annually.
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 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).
Inquiries
Additional detailed information about the NIH Loan Repayment Programs is provided at http://www.lrp.nih.gov/about_the_programs/index.aspx. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their career interests with an NIH Institute or Center scientific liaison provided at this site: http://www.lrp.nih.gov/contact_us/contact_list.aspx.