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Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

Purpose

This notice provides program-specific information for the Intramural General Research Loan Repayment Program for NIH investigators or fellows who are offered employment by the NIH in subspecialty and residency training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACMGE). The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. Additional detailed information about each LRP is provided at https://www.lrp.nih.gov/eligibility-programs#programs and www.lrp.nih.gov/apply.

Applicants to the General Research LRP for ACGME Fellows must have an offer of employment in a 3-year ACGME fellowship program offered by the Graduate Medical Education office at NIH. The Intramural LRP repays up to $20,000 annually of a research’s qualified educational debt.

The ACGME-LRP is a non-competitive program. ACGME-LRP applications will be accepted from January 2 until April 15, 2024. All LRP applications must be submitted electronically using the Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST), https://public.era.nih.gov/assist/.

ACGME-LRP Objective

The objective of the ACGME-LRP is to recruit fellows who are offered employment by the NIH in subspecialty and residency training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Eligible Applicants

No applicant will be excluded from consideration on the basis of age, race, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.

Eligibility criteria to participate in the Intramural LRP:

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the U.S.
• Applicants must possess anM.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.P.M., D.V.M., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited institution; or hold the position of Physician Assistant.
• Applicants must have total qualifying educational debt equal to or in excess of 20 percent of their institutional annual base salary at the time of the award. Institutional annual base salary is the annual amount the organization pays for the individual's appointment, whether the time is spent on research, teaching, patient care, or other activities. Institutional annual base salary excludes any income that an applicant may earn outside of the duties of the organization. This criterion is not applicable to applicants for a renewal award.
• Applicants to the ACGME-LRP must have an offer of employment in a 3-year ACGME fellowship program offered by the Graduate Medical Education office at NIH.
• Applicants must agree to conduct only research that is not prohibited by Federal law, regulations, or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or NIH. Applicants who receive LRP awards must conduct their research in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local law (e.g., applicable human subject protection regulations) for the entire award period.
• No individual may submit more than one LRP application to the NIH in any fiscal year. Individuals who have applied previously for the LRP, but did not receive an award, are eligible to apply for a new award if they meet all the above eligibility criteria.

The following individuals are ineligible for participation in the Intramural LRP:

• Persons who are not U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.
• Any individual who has or had a federal judgment lien against his/her property arising from a federal debt is barred from receiving federal funds even if the judgment is paid in full or satisfied.
• Any individual who owes an obligation of health professional service to the federal government, a State, or other entity, unless deferrals or extensions are granted for the length of their Intramural LRP service obligation.The following list provides examples of programs with service obligations that disqualify an LRP applicant from consideration, unless a deferral for the length of the LRP award is obtained: 
  • Armed Forces (Army, Navy, or Air Force) Professions Scholarship Program
  • Exceptional Financial Need (EFN) Scholarship Program
  • Financial Assistance for Disadvantaged Health Professions Students (FADHPS)
  • Indian Health Service (IHS) Scholarship Program
  • National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program
  • National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP)
  • Physicians Shortage Area Scholarship Program
  • Primary Care Loan (PCL) Program
  • Public Health Service (PHS) Scholarship Program
  • National Research Service Award (NRSA) Program
• Current recipients of NIH Intramural Research Training Awards (IRTA) or Cancer Research Training Awards (CRTA).
• Individuals conducting research for which funding is precluded by federal law, regulations, or HHS/NIH policy, or that does not comply with applicable federal, state, and local law regarding the conduct of the research (e.g., applicable human subject protection regulations).

Funds Available
 

The NIH intends to commit approximately $5 million annually to fund Intramural LRP awards.

Annual Receipt, Peer Review, and Award Schedule: Upon receipt, applications 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 processing.

• Application Receipt Period: January 2 through April 15, 5:00 p.m. ET
• Annual Peer Review Period: This is a non-competitive program, thus there is no peer review period
• Annual Anticipated Award Period: July – September

Application Materials: The following information is furnished by applicants or others on behalf of applicants using the Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST), https://public.era.nih.gov/assist/, and must be submitted from January 2 through April 15, 5:00 p.m. ET

Applicants submit the following:

• Applicant information
• Applicant's NIH Biosketch
• Applicant's NIH eRA Commons ID
• Personal statement, which includes a discussion of career goals and academic objectives
• Funding Information: source(s) of applicant's research funding
• Identification of an IC Coordinator
• Loan information obtained from lending institution(s), including current account statement(s), and promissory note(s) or disclosure statement(s)

IC Coordinators submit a certification that:

1. The applicant is or will be a full-time employee of the NIH Intramural Research Program or NIH Clinical Fellowship, as of the start date of the LRP contract
2. The applicant’s start date of NIH full-time employment can be supported and verified by the NIH SF-50 and/or SF-52 form
3. The applicant’s 3-year FTE appointment at the NIH can be supported and verified by the NIH SF-50 and/or SF-52 form
4. The applicant’s annual income or compensation is accurate
5. The applicant will engage in ILRP-approved research for the duration of the LRP contract, as specified by the start and end dates provided on this certification

Renewal Award Applications
 

There are no renewal awards for the ACGME-LRP. ACGME awardees must apply for renewal in the Intramural General Research LRP, which is a competitive program.

Evaluation Criteria
 

The General Research LRP for ACGME Fellows is a non-competitive program, so there are no evaluation criteria.

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. It is the responsibility of the LRP awardee to notify the Division of Loan Repayment immediately if there is a pending change in employment, research focus, or extended leave. Failure to fulfill the terms of the LRP contract will result in the termination of the LRP award and could be considered a breach of contract. The penalty for a breach of contract is $7,500 for every month of unfulfilled service or $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 applicants for the following:

• Undergraduate, graduate, and health professional school tuition expenses
• Other reasonable educational expenses required by the school(s) attended, including fees, books, supplies, educational equipment and materials, and laboratory expenses
• Reasonable living expenses, including the cost of room and board, transportation and commuting costs, and other living expenses as determined by the Secretary

Loan repayments are made directly to lenders, following receipt of (1) the Research Supervisor's verification of completion of the prior period of research, (2) the IC coordinator’s verification of completeness of the prior period of service, and (3) lender verification of the crediting of prior loan repayments, including the resulting account balances and current account status. LRP award recipients will also be required to submit quarterly verification of continued employment and qualified research. The NIH will repay loans in the following order:

1. Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)
• Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL)
• Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)
• Nursing Student Loan Program (NSL)

2. Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education:

• Direct Loans (Stafford, Consolidation, Perkins)
• Federal Family Education Loans (Stafford, Consolidation)
• PLUS Loans disbursed to graduate and professional students on or after July 1, 2006. Note: PLUS loans to parents do not qualify

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:

• MEDLOANS
• Private (non-guaranteed) Consolidation 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 (e.g., home equity loans)

2. Loans for which eligibility documentation (current account statement, and promissory note or lender disclosure statement) is not provided

3. Consolidation loans that include a loan not eligible for repayment, such as loans obtained from an unqualified lender, loans obtained by the applicant for an individual other than the applicant (e.g., spouse or child), loans obtained by an individual other than the applicant (e.g., spouse or parent), or non-educational loans (e.g., home equity loan)

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

5. Loans, financial debts, or service obligations incurred under a program where an incurred service obligation converts to a loan upon failure to satisfy the service obligation

6. Loans that are delinquent, in default, or not current in their payment schedule

7. Parent PLUS loans

8. Loans that are paid-in-full

9. Loans obtained after the start date of the first NIH Loan Repayment Program award (e.g., a promissory note signed after the start date of an LRP award). 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 awardees are wholly responsible for making payments or other arrangements that maintain their loans current, such that increases in either principal or interest do not occur. Penalties and/or fees assessed to awardees failing to maintain their current payment status may not be considered for reimbursement.

LRP payments are NOT retroactive.

Required Federal Citations
 

Awards are made pursuant to Section 2022 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255), which amended Section 487A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288-1) to consolidate all NIH Intramural Loan Repayment Programs into a single Intramural Loan Repayment Program while retaining General Research as a subcategory.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Additional detailed information about the NIH Loan Repayment Programs is provided at https://www.lrp.nih.gov/index.php/eligibility-programs. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their career interests with their supervisor, their IC coordinator, and/or the Director of the Intramural Loan Repayment Program: https://www.lrp.nih.gov/contact-engage. The LRP Information Center is also available by phone at (866) 849-4047 or email at lrp@nih.gov.