|
|
 |
|
<< back to the 5 Loan Repayment Programs
|
Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program
NIH Guide Notice
The Clinical Research LRP is a vital component of our nation's efforts to attract health professionals to careers in clinical research.
In exchange for a two-year commitment to your clinical research career, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of your qualified educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover your Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments.
In Fiscal Year 2002, this program was restricted to researchers with NIH grants. Since FY 2003, NIH broadened eligibility to all doctoral-level clinical researchers with a domestic nonprofit or U.S government (Federal, state or local) funding. To participate,
you must conduct clinical research for 50% or more of your total level of effort for an average of at least 20 hours per week during each quarterly service period. That is, during each quarter of the two-year LRP contract period, you must conduct the required research for a minimum of 240 hours (based on a 12-week quarter) or 260 hours (based on a 13-week quarter). The research must be funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government (Federal, state or local) entity. Also, the research must not be prohibited by Federal law or NIH policy. [Click here for additional eligibility criteria.]
NIH defines clinical research as follows:
|
| Clinical research is
"patient-oriented clinical research conducted with
human subjects, or research on the causes and
consequences of disease in human populations
involving material of human origin (such as tissue
specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an
investigator or colleague directly interacts with
human subjects in an outpatient or inpatient setting
to clarify a problem in human physiology, pathophysiology
or disease, or epidemiologic or behavioral studies,
outcomes research or health services research, or
developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions,
or clinical trials."
|
|
Please use the above definition to help determine whether your research qualifies for this program. If you're uncertain after reading the definition, consult your principal investigator or research mentor. For further clarification, please contact the LRP liaison at the NIH Institute or Center (IC) most closely affiliated with your research.
Staff in the NIH Loan Repayment Program screen the applications for completeness and eligibility and forwards them to the NIH Center for Scientific Review to determine the NIH Institute or Center to which the application will be assigned for review.
In reviewing the application, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists will be asked to consider the following criteria:
- Appropriateness of the applicant's previous training and experience as preparation for a career in clinical research;
- Suitability of the applicant's proposed clinical research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in clinical research;
- Assessment of the applicant's commitment to a research career as reflected by the personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
- Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant's potential for a clinical research career;
- Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant's research independence; and
- Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.
Funding decisions are made by the Institute or Center (IC) where the application is assigned for review and are based on several factors including the IC’s funding priorities. It is important to note that different institutes have different programmatic priorities and preferences. These differences can significantly influence your chances to receive funding. We strongly suggest you examine these institute differences, which can be found on our Contact Us page, to determine your fit within each institute’s program. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
