NIH Loan Repayment Programs: Supporting the Next Generation of Researchers

<p>Ismail Ahmed, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Robert Froemke's lab here at New York University. He is interested in how neuropeptides modulate neural circuits giving rise to complex behaviors, such as social behavior. Specifically, he is integrating his chemical biology expertise with classical neuroscience techniques to develop novel tools to understand better the neuromodulatory role of the neurohormone oxytocin in the context of rodent maternal behavior. His work is generously funded by an F99/K00 award through the National Institute of Mental Health and was recently awarded the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program Fellowship.</p>

<p>Matthew Lockhart, M.B.A., is the Director of the Division of Loan Repayment (DLR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, Mr. Lockhart is responsible for administering and providing leadership for the NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) as well as representing NIH on matters related to the operations, policy development and evaluation of the LRPs. Prior to this position, Mr. Lockhart served as a program analyst in DLR, where he provided process and policy guidance to Program Officers and Scientific Review Officers for the 24 NIH Institutes and Centers that participate in the NIH LRPs. Mr. Lockhart was also an architect of several policy papers and analyses that assessed the impacts of newly enacted legislation, such as the 21st Century Cures Act, on the NIH LRPs. Before coming to NIH, Mr. Lockhart led the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mr. Lockhart's academic background includes a B.A. in Mathematics from Gallaudet University and an M.B.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Maryland.</p>

<p>Omar McCrimmon, M.A., a native Washingtonian, is the Division of Loan Repayment's Communications and Outreach Specialist. He joins DLR with over six years of experience in health/science communications. Prior to joining the DLR, Omar spent five years at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) where he managed media relations, social media, and the exhibit program. From there, he moved to the Alzheimer's Association where he played a role in managing public policy, and diversity program media relations. Mr. McCrimmon holds a B.A. in Journalism from Norfolk State University, and a M.A. from Trinity University.</p>

<p>Sarah Powell, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Powell is currently Principal Investigator (PI) of an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) efficacy grant related to word problems and equation solving for third-grade students experiencing mathematics difficulties. Ms. Powell is also PI of an IES efficacy grant related to multi-step word-problem solving at fourth grade. She is PI of the Teaching Early Math by Providing Language Exploration (TEMPLE) project funded by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, PI of a Texas Education Agency network (Tiered Interventions using Evidence-based Research: TIER), co-PI of a National Science Foundation grant aimed at developing a science intervention for second-grade students with learning difficulties, co-PI of an Office of Special Education Programs model demonstration grant for middle school algebra readiness (Supporting Teaching of Algebra with Individual Readiness: STAIR), co-PI of an Office of Innovation and Improvement grant about kindergarten computational thinking through music, and co-PI of a EF+Math grant funded by the NewSchools Venture Fund (My Math Stories).</p><p>Ms. Powell was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2019. Ms. Powell's research interests include developing and testing interventions for students with mathematics difficulties, with a special emphasis on peer tutoring, word-problem solving, mathematics writing, and the symbols and vocabulary within mathematics.</p>