DLR Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Clinical Research & Pediatric Research LRPs

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of Congressionally mandated programs designed to recruit and retain promising early-stage investigators conducting research in NIH mission critical areas. The escalating costs of advanced education and training are forcing some investigators to abandon their research careers, which are often highly demanding and lower paying, for more lucrative careers in the private sector.  By repaying qualifying student loan debt, the NIH LRPs are helping to stem the loss of research innovation and are enabling investigators – many in the early stages of their careers – to pursue research careers whose outcomes have the potential to significantly benefit public health across the world.

"The receipt of the Clinical Research LRP was a game changer for me. With this award, I was no longer concerned about the tremendous burden of loans, and I was better able to focus on my research career”, said Dr. Fatima Stanford, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital. “As such, I have now published over 150 peer reviewed articles - I am thankful to the NIH LRP for helping to ease my financial burden and help me grow my career as a physician scientist."

In 2000, the 106th Congress passed four laws that created three new extramural NIH LRPs: the Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program (Public Health Improvement Act); the Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program (Children’s Health Act of 2000); and the Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program (Minority Health and Health Disparities Research & Education Act); and expanded eligibility for the Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds to include individuals engaged in research in academic and other nonprofit research institutions (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001).

In FY 2002, the NIH allocated approximately $26.3 million to NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) to initially fund the first cohort of the Clinical Research and Pediatric Research LRPs.  According to the NIH Office of Budget, the amount allocated to each IC for LRP awards was based upon their FY 1999 funding levels for Clinical Research.  In the 20 years since its inaugural cohort, the NIH has repaid over $1.1 Billion in student loan debt through the Clinical Research and Pediatric Research LRPs.

“The pediatric LRP has given me peace of mind while I focus on my postdoctoral research on how moms learn to take care of their offspring. Like most Americans, if I did not have the LRP award, I would have been extremely overwhelmed about paying back my student loans”, said Dr. Ismail Ahmed, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NYU School of Medicine.  “Moreover, a silver lining during the pandemic is the LRP award has helped me eliminate a huge portion of my student debt while interest was not being charged. I truly see the light at the end of the tunnel.”  

Following the successful launch of the LRPs, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) produced a report outlining the establishment and implementation of the Clinical Research Enhancement Act. Impressed by the potential public health impact of the LRPs, Senator Ted Kennedy met with the then Acting NIH Director Dr. Ruth L. Kirschstein to discuss expansion of the LRPs. Just prior to publication of the GAO report, Dr. Kirschstein agreed to double the LRP funding. Extramural renewal applications were added to the programs in 2004 to support the continuation of the LRP award.

“The LRPs have been an important and visible mechanism within the extramural research community that has helped thousands of early-stage investigators remain in biomedical and behavioral research careers that they love”, said Matthew Lockhart, Acting Director, Division of Loan Repayment.  “We are so proud of the achievements made over the last 20 years and look forward to helping more investigators stay in the research pipeline.”

This year, the LRP application cycle will open on September 1st and close on November 17th. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review each IC Mission and Research Priorities statement and then contact one or more IC scientific LRP liaisons to discuss their research and career interests as they relate to the IC's research and funding priorities. Research and funding priorities can change yearly, so it is important that applicants contact a liaison – ideally in advance of the opening of the application cycle – to ensure an appropriate understanding of IC priorities. Applicants can find the list of IC scientific LRP liaisons on the Contact & Engage page.

For additional assistance, you can call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at 866-849-4047 (Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST) or lrp@nih.gov. You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for more information and updates about the NIH LRPs.

By: Omar McCrimmon, M.A.
Date: April 6, 2022