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NIH Grants and Funding
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of HealthProgram
Legislative Authority
In June 1993, Public Law (Pub. L.) 103-43 authorized Section 487C of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 USC 288-3), establishing a program of educational loan repayment to attract highly qualified health professionals, particularly physicians, to conduct research at NIH.
Program Announcement
See Intramural Loan Repayment Program for General Research (GR-LRP) guide notice in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts for program and policy guidance.
Additional Program Information
Applicants to the General Research LRP must hold a minimum three-year NIH appointment, beginning in the fiscal year of an LRP application submission.
Eligibility
See eligibility on the Eligibility & Programs page.
Review Process
LRP Review
DLR reviews each application to ensure it is complete and meets all general eligibility requirements. Applications that are incomplete – including those missing supplemental information, such as recommendations and institutional certification – as of the applicable deadline will not be considered for further review.
NIH Institute or Center/Peer Review
Applications that meet the eligibility criteria are forwarded to the NIH Loan Repayment Committee (LRC). The LRC reviews, ranks, and approves/disapproves eligible applications for LRP awards.
Evaluation of each application is based primarily on the applicant’s:
- Credentials;
- Potential to perform basic or clinical research; and
- Research training plan.
Financial Review
Select applicants will be emailed on a rolling basis to request submission of loan documentation. Loan balance and eligibility must be established to be considered for repayment. Loan documentation can take several months to acquire from lenders. DLR encourages all applicants to contact their lenders as soon as the LRP application is submitted. LRP applicants should carefully review the Loan Detail Page for more information.
Key Dates
02
15
Online Application Period
02
15
Colleague & Institutional
Documentation Period
IC & Peer Review Period
Financial Review Period
Notification Period
Application Components
Individuals applying to the Intramural LRPs are automatically considered mentored research scientists and will be required to enter the name of their Intramural research supervisor/mentor in the application.
There are many attachments requested during the online application process. The table below lists the required attachments, organized by type of document and who needs to submit it.
In addition, applicants must have a minimum of three reference letters, but no more than five will be accepted. For guidance on selecting referees, please see the Referees/Recommenders section of this website.
- An Institutional Business Official (IBO) to verify eligibility and employment;
- A minimum of three reference letters, but no more than five will be accepted. For mentored research scientists, one of the reference letters must be from the mentor; and
- An Assessment of Research Accomplishments (including an assessment of progress toward becoming/continuing as an independent researcher).
For guidance on selecting an IBO and referees/recommenders, please see the Institutional Business Official section as well as the Referees/Recommenders section of our website.
Renewal LRP applications are competitive and submission of a renewal application does not assure the award of loan repayment.
| Document or Form | Mentored Research Scientist | Independent Researcher |
|---|---|---|
|
NIH Biosketch (Applicant) Submitted by: |
Applicant | Applicant |
| Instructions: Submit a Biosketch in a specified NIH format. It is not necessary to have a well-established career to apply to the LRP, but the Biosketch should include a list of significant honors and grants. An NIH Biosketch cannot exceed five (5) pages. | ||
|
NIH Biosketch (Mentor) Submitted by: |
Applicant | Not Applicable |
| Instructions: Submit your Mentor's Biosketch in a specified NIH format. An NIH Biosketch cannot exceed five (5) pages. | ||
|
NIH Biosketch (Additional) Submitted by: |
Applicant | Not Applicable |
| Instructions: If another laboratory staff member will be involved in your mentoring, you should also submit this staff member’s Biosketch. The Biosketch must be in a specified NIH format and cannot exceed five (5) pages. Only one additional Biosketch may be attached to an application. | ||
|
Personal Statement Submitted by: |
Applicant | Applicant |
| Instructions: Use one (1) page to describe your previous research training experience and short-term academic and research objectives.. | ||
|
Career Development Plan Submitted by: |
Not Applicable | Applicant |
| Instructions: Use two (2) pages or less to describe your career development plan and explain how this plan will foster the development of your career in research. Specify the types of research methods and scientific techniques to be learned, memberships in journal clubs or groups, and conferences and seminars to be attended. | ||
|
Research Activities Submitted by: |
Applicant, with approval from Mentor | Applicant |
| Instructions: Use eight (8) pages or less to describe the research activities you will pursue over the next two years and your specific role and responsibilities in the research project(s). Literature citations are included in the character count and should be listed on the last page. Include your name, employer, title of research project, and date in the document header. | ||
|
Research Environment Submitted by: |
Applicant, with approval from Mentor | Applicant |
| Instructions: Use one (1) page to describe the research to be conducted during the course of the LRP award and the facilities that will be available to execute the project. The description should include the branch/laboratory/section/department of the applicant and the appropriate scientific colleagues, institutional research, and facilities available. Include a brief description of the funding source for your research. Also, if this is a mentored application, a brief description of the mentor's research should be included. | ||
|
Training/Mentoring Plan Submitted by: |
Applicant, with approval from Mentor | Not Applicable |
| Instructions: Use two (2) pages or less to describe your research training program and mentoring plan. Specify the types of training interactions, training mechanisms to be used, research methods, and scientific techniques to be learned, involvement in activities such as journal clubs, professional groups, conferences, and seminars. Describe how your mentor will contribute to your training program and his/her prior experience as a mentor of other investigators. Additionally, the nature and extent of supervision should be discussed as they will occur during the award period. If another laboratory staff member will be involved in your mentoring program, provide his/her name and describe his/her degree of involvement. | ||
|
Certification for Online Application Submitted by: |
Applicant | Applicant |
| Instructions: Read all statements listed in the Certifications for Online Applications section and check the box next to each statement to signify your consent. You will enter your electronic signature in lieu of printing, signing, and returning the form to the NIH LRPs. | ||
|
Contract Submitted by: |
Applicant | Applicant |
| Instructions: Read the NIH Loan Repayment Programs Contract in its entirety and check the box next to the statement to signify your consent. You will enter your electronic signature in lieu of printing, signing, and mailing in a signed copy of the contract to the NIH LRPs. | ||
|
Loan Documents Submitted by: |
Applicant | Applicant |
| Instructions: It can take months to obtain the LRP-required documentation from lenders and servicers, so you are strongly advised to collect those documents well in advance. Provide specified documentation to demonstrate that educational loans listed in the application are eligible for loan repayment. Loans will be considered ineligible if appropriate documentation is not provided in a timely manner. See additional details about loan documents. You will be notified by DLR when to submit those documents any time between May and August. | ||
Award Calculations
All Intramural General Research LRP new awards are three years. Repayments for a new award are calculated by using the eligible educational debt at the contract start date. The amount awarded is equal to one-quarter of the total eligible debt, up to $50,000, for each year of the award. To receive the maximum amount of $150,000 for a three-year award, you must have at least $200,000 in eligible educational debt at the contract start date.
Payments are made on a quarterly basis, starting with the loan with the highest priority per NIH guidelines. If a loan is paid-in-full before the end of a contract, subsequent quarterly payments will be directed to the loan with the next highest priority.
See a full list of the loan priority order
Use our repayment calculator to get an estimate on the amount of your LRP award.
Loan Eligibility
Qualifying Lenders
Qualified lenders: Any U.S. government (Federal, State, or local) entity, accredited U.S. academic institution, and/or U.S. commercial educational lender that is subject to examination and supervision in their capacity as a lending institution by an agency of the United States or of the State in which the lender has its principal place of business.
Unqualified lenders: Entities that are not U.S. government (Federal, State, or local), U.S. academic, or U.S. commercial educational lenders. Loans from friends, relatives, or other individuals are also not qualified.
Loan Eligibility
Most U.S.-based educational loans made by a qualified lender for educational purposes are eligible for repayment, including U.S.-based educational loans made for the following purposes:
- Undergraduate, graduate, and health professional school tuition and 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 of the Department of Health & Human Services.
A consolidated loan is eligible as long as all loans in the consolidation are eligible for repayment.
Existing principal and capitalized interest on eligible loans and related expenses, such as the required insurance premiums on the unpaid balances of some loans, from qualifying lenders are also eligible for repayment.
Ineligible Loans
The following loans are not eligible for repayment through the LRPs:
-
Consolidated loans that include at least one of the following loans are not eligible for repayment;
- Loans obtained from an unqualified lender;
- Loans obtained by the applicant for an individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or child;
- Loans obtained by an individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or parent;
- Non-educational loans, such as a home-equity loan;
- Loans for which eligibility documentation is not provided;
- 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;
- 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;
- Loans that are delinquent, in default, or not current in their repayment schedule;
- Parent PLUS loans;
- Loans that are paid-in-full;
- Loans that are obtained after the start date of the initial NIH Loan Repayment Program Contract.
Additionally, late fees, penalty fees, additional interest charges, or collections costs will not be repaid by the LRP.
Register to Start Your Application View Detailed Loan InformationContractual Obligations
Contract Length
A General Research LRP new award is a three-year contract that starts on the date of NIH employment. Awardees are required to meet the terms and conditions of the LRP award for the entire contract period.
An LRP award cannot be transferred from an Intramural LRP to an Extramural LRP. If an awardee terminates employment with NIH, the LRP award will be terminated as well. Depending on the circumstances of the change in employment, breach of contract may be considered by the NIH Institute or Center (IC) that funded the award.
Change of Institution
If an awardee transfers to another IC within the NIH, the awardee may continue to participate in the NIH LRP as long as the IC to which the awardee is transferring also participates in the NIH Intramural LRPs. The awardee must continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
It is the responsibility of the Intramural award recipient to notify DLR immediately if there is a pending change in NIH IC. The awardee must provide a copy of the SF-50 for the new position at the new IC as soon as it becomes available. This information will be reviewed by the Director, Intramural Loan Repayment Programs and the awardee may be asked to provide additional information during the review.
If the Intramural awardee obtains employment outside of the NIH, the awardee will no longer be eligible to participate in the Intramural LRPs and the award will be terminated immediately. This may also constitute a breach of contract and the awardee may be subjected to the financial penalties described in the contract.
Family Leave
Family leave can include maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption leave. Paid family leave can be taken during an LRP award. Any unpaid leave, even if covered under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), may result in a reduced quarterly payment. Awardees must make payments to lenders on their own behalf for periods of Leave Without Pay (LWOP).
Breach of Contract
Failure to complete the terms of an LRP contract, including the research service requirement, is considered a breach of contract. The penalty for breaching the LRP contract is $7,500 for each month the contract terms are not met, with the minimum penalty set at $31,000. Please read the LRP contract in its entirety before applying to the LRP.