Ambassadors

“Support from the loan repayment program has given me protected time and space to focus on my career and its development, as opposed to stressing about how to repay my loans. This has felt like a huge privilege and I am indescribably grateful”

“The NIH LRP has truly transformed my research career - not just because of the crucial financial support it has provided - but because the valuable process of preparing my applications laid the groundwork and experiential knowledge to apply for subsequent NIH grants. I am very grateful to the wonderful Program Officers and staff at the NIH Division of Loan Repayment for their feedback and for nurturing my development!”

“I entered a Ph.D. program later in life, as an untraditional student burdened with student debt. The LRP award allowed me to pursue interesting fellowship opportunities without the financial pressure of lingering debt. My award was driver to what I hope will be a long career in academic research”

“The NIH LRP has provided me with the foundation to compete for additional NIH funding and the protected time to grow as an early career researcher. The financial freedom from student loan debt has allowed me to be more flexible as a scientist and expand into new areas of research”

“Finally watching my loan balance go down for the first time despite years of payments was a huge load off my mind as I navigated starting my lab and being new faculty.”

“The LRP Program has been invaluable to my career development. This program allowed me to pursue a T32 postdoctoral fellowship and K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award without worrying about paying off my student debt. I would not have been able to remain in academic research without this program”

“Uprooting a family to a different city to do a postdoc does not come without costs. It was very helpful to be able to stay the course in pursuing becoming a PI without the financial hardship of repaying my loans”

“I have met phenomenal colleagues both in and outside of my institution through the LRP. This has facilitated collaborative research and more grant applications”

“The LRP program has connected me to a network of phenomenal scientists across the country which has opened up potential collaborations and future grant applications. The ability to pay off student loans more than a decade in advance has really provided tremendous financial flexibility to remain in an academic research faculty position”

“Because of the LRP, I could afford to put down roots and build relationships in a region with high cost of living and income inequality. It gave my family the financial breathing room to hire a daily babysitter in the worst days of the pandemic so that I could keep doing my job, developing and evaluating interventions to reduce health disparities”

“The NIH Loan Repayment Program provided as much honor as it did financial relief by validating the science I was pursuing while providing a financial cushion, reducing my need to seek out clinical opportunities to supplement my income. With more time to conduct my research, my productivity increased proportionately with my sense of peace and fulfillment.”

“As a recipient of the NIH LRP, I was able to focus on developing my passion for neonatal research without the concern of debt repayment. This enabled me to achieve NIH K08 and R01 funding while simultaneously being able to support my young family. This trajectory enabled me to grow from a curious neonatal fellow into a tenured professor leading a large neonatology division as division director. I now have the privilege of supporting aspiring scientists as they develop their own careers of impact.”

“More than half of all students graduate with significant undergraduate and graduate educational debt. This factors into many decisions including job opportunities and earning potentials. However, it is truly unfortunate to sacrifice the dreams we came in with for the education we worked so hard for. The LRP helps diminish this financial burden, enabling many to live out their passions such as myself as a clinician-scientist, trying to discover ways to preserve vision as a basic scientist. As a very grateful LRP awardee, I want to encourage everyone to apply for the LRP award.”

“The Loan Repayment Program has allowed me to stay in academia without worrying about loan repayment, which is a huge advantage in and of itself. Beyond this, the LRP award has directly benefited my research career and improved quality-of-life for both myself and my family. I cannot recommend this program highly enough!”