Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR)

Notice Number: NOT-OD-13-081

Key Dates
Release Date: July 16, 2013
Application Period: Annually from September 1 through November 15, at 8:00 PM EST.

LRP-CR Program Objective
The objective of the LRP-CR program is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals as clinical investigators.

NIH defines clinical research as "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 epidemiological or behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials."

Eligible ApplicantsAll eligible individuals, including women, individuals from underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply for loan repayment.

Eligibility criteria with regard to participation in the extramural LRPs include the following:

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent resident of the U.S.
• Applicants for LRP-CR must have an M.D., Ph.D., Pharm. D., Psy.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.P.M., D.C., N.D., O.D., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited institution.
• Applicants must have total qualifying educational debt equal to or in excess of 20 percent of their institutional base salary at the time of award which will be between July and September annually).  Institutional 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 base salary excludes any income that an applicant may earn outside of the duties of the organization.  Institutional base salary may not include or comprise any income (salary or wages) earned as a Federal employee.
• Applicants must conduct qualifying research (as defined above) supported by a domestic non-profit foundation (e.g., universities), non-profit professional association, or other non-profit institution, or a U.S. or other government agency (Federal, State or local).  A domestic foundation, professional association, or institution is considered to be non-profit if exempt from Federal tax under the provisions of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501).
• Applicants must engage in research that averages at least 20 hours per week during each quarterly service period.  That is, during each contract quarter, participants 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).
• Part-time federal employees (4/8ths or less) working 20 hours per week or less who are (a) not conducting research as a Federal employee, and (b) whose funding source is from a domestic non-profit source, are eligible to apply for loan repayment if they meet all other eligibility requirements.
• Applicants must agree to conduct research for which funding is not prohibited by Federal law, regulations, or DHHS/NIH policy.  Recipients 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 contract period.
• Applicants will not be excluded from consideration on the basis of age, race, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other non-merit factors.
• 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 submit a new application if they meet all of the above eligibility criteria.
• Recipients of a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) support from an individual postdoctoral fellowship (F32) or an institutional research training grant (T32) will be eligible for loan repayment during the second year of NRSA support if a formal extension of the NRSA service payback is granted (see http://grants1.nih.gov/training/payback.htm).  Concurrent payment of LRP and NRSA service obligations is prohibited.

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