1. NIH Loan Repayment Programs
October 27, 2016
Ericka M. Boone, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Loan Repayment
NIH Office of Extramural Programs/NIH Office of Extramural Research

2. LRP Overview Overview and Description of the LRPs
Eligibility and Qualifying Loans
Application Components and Review Process
Tips for Writing a Competitive Application
Program Success Rates
Brief Website and Online Application System Tour
Wrap Up

3. General Overview of LRPs

4. About the LRPs YOU: Commit to perform research for 2 years
NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a vital component in our nation's effort to keep health professionals in research careers
Here’s how it works:
YOU: Commit to perform research for 2 years
NIH: Repays up to $35,000/year of your qualified educational debt and covers resulting Federal taxes (39%)
Outcome: Increase in nation’s stock of biomedical research scientists

5. Description of LRPs

6. 5 Extramural NIH LRPs: For individuals conducting research at non-profit Institutions
Clinical Research
Patient-oriented research conducted with human subjects or materials of human origin (including cognitive phenomenon) on the causes and consequences of disease in humans
Pediatric Research
Research related to diseases or disorders in children
Basic research allowed
Health Disparities Research
Research focusing on minority and other health disparity populations
Basic, clinical, social and behavioral research allowed
Applications reviewed by NIMHD
Contraception & Infertility Research
Research focusing on conditions impacting ability to conceive or bear children
Applications reviewed by Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD
Clinical Research DB
Same as Clinical Research LRP
Available to clinical researchers from verifiable disadvantaged backgrounds
Reviewed by NIMHD

7. Basic Eligibility and Qualifying Loans

8. Basic LRP Eligibility Criteria
Extramural
Doctoral Degree
M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent
Exception: Contraception & Infertility Research LRP
Research Funding
Citizenship
Domestic nonprofit, university, or government organization; NIH grant support NOT required
U.S. Citizen or permanent resident
Educational Loan Debt
Research Time
At least 20% of applicant’s annual income
At least 20 hours/week

9. Qualifying Loans NIH WILL Repay:
Educational loans backed by the U.S. government
Educational loans from accredited U.S. academic institutions and commercial lenders
NIH Will NOT Repay:
Non-educational loans (e.g. home equity loans)
PLUS loans to parents
EXCEPTION: PLUS loans disbursed to graduate and professional students on or after July 1, 2006, qualify for LRP repayment
Loans from non-US governments or institutions
Loans converted to a service obligation, delinquent or in default
Loans consolidated with another individual (e.g. spouse or child)
Loans of full-time Federal government employees or VA Fellows

10. The Application and Review Process

11. Extramural LRP Application Cycle Timeline
Sept 1 – Nov 15
Nov 15
Feb - May
May - June
Mid-July-August
October
Application
Cycle
Open
Application,
Colleague,
and IBO
Deadline
Application
Peer
Review
Financial
Vetting
Final
Funding
Decisions
1st Lender
Payments
Quarterly verifications required for future payments
DLR
CSR
NIH IC
Peer Review
DLR
Selected applications

12. The Application – Major Sections
Biosketch
Personal Information and Employment
Contact information; citizenship; employing organization and title
Research Activities
Personal Statement – include previous research training experience, how you developed your scientific interests, background and accomplishments; short and long-term career goals
Training/Career Development Plan – What skills, etc do you need to acquire along your path to independent researcher (e.g., training and professional development opportunities; grantmanship workshops, conference attendance, etc) – include timelines
Proposed Research Plans – Describe planned research activities, specific roles/responsibilities over next 2 years – include timelines
Research Environment
Loan Information (new applicants only)
Lender and servicer information, loan number, total loan amounts, loan status (e.g., in repayment/forbearance)
Career Development Plan – over the next few years, you will be transitioning from an early stage investigator to independence, describe career development activities you will undertake to help you along your path

13. What Are Reviewers Looking For?
Reviewers evaluate applicant’s potential to succeed in a research career by rating:
Applicant’s previous training and research experience
Applicant’s commitment to a research career
Strength and quality of letters of recommendation
Quality and appropriateness of the research environment
Research progress (for Renewal applications only)
base your application on the research you will conducting DURING the LRP contract (that’s 2 years for a new application and 1 or 2 years for a renewal).

14. Tips for Writing a Competitive LRP Application
These tips will help you strengthen your application.
Know the funding priorities of the NIH Institute or Center that will review your application
Effectively demonstrate your qualifications and commitment to research.
Describe resources and support thoroughly.
Write a strong research plan.
Provide strong letters of recommendation.
**To download this complete document, visit

15. Get Ahead of the Curve, Start Now!
Contact your lender to get specific loan information (including account numbers and amounts owed)
Read LRP website and published notices and determine which NIH LRP is the right one for you
Talk to your mentor and potential recommender about your interest in applying for the NIH Loan Repayment Program
Talk to an NIH LRP Program Officer/Liaison
Make sure you have an eRA Commons ID
**Deadline = November 15th!

16. LRP Success Rates

17. NIH LRP Applications & Awards, FY10-15
FY FY FY FY FY FY15
Success Rates ~50% Overall
Applications vs Awards (#)

18. NIH LRP Applications & Awards, FY10-15
FY FY FY FY FY FY15
Applications vs Awards (#)

19. 2015 Application Profile

20. LRP Applications & Awards, FY2015
2,736 Total Applications 1,351 Awards $69,368,686
New Applications
1,641 (60%)
Renewal Applications
1,095 (40%)
39% of New Applicants
received award
65% of Renewal Applicants received award

21. FY 2015 LRP Awards, by Program
1,351 Total Awards
Clinical
Pediatric
Health Disparities
866
125
312
Clinical – Disadvantaged 25
Contraception & Infertility 23

22. FY 2015 LRP Applications & Awards, by Gender
Female
1,578 (58% of applications)
Male
1,158 (42% of applications)
46% of Female Applicants
received award
54% of Male Applicants
received award

23. FY 2015 LRP Awards, by Degree Type
Physician Doctorates
727 awards (54%)
Academic Doctorates
596 awards (44%)
Other Degrees
28 awards (2%)

24. Educational Debt Level, New Awardees
79% of new awardees had educational debt greater than $50,000
16% of new awardees had educational debt greater than $200,000

25. LRP Awards, FY2015
California had the most recipients, followed by Massachusetts and New York
# of Awards
States
AK,HI,ME,MT,PR,SD,WY
1-25
AL,AR,AZ,DC,DE,GA,IA,ID,
IN,KS,KY,LA,MN,MS,ND,
NE,NH,NJ,NM,NV,OK,OR,
SC,UT,VA,VT,WI,WV
26-50
CO,CT,FL,MI,MO,RI,TN,WA
51-100
IL,MD,NC,OH,PA,TX
MA,NY CA

26. LRP Website and Online Application Tour

27.
Descriptions of the 5 extramural programs can be found at

28. Access Online application system

29. login
Because the system is new, all users (applicants and their colleagues) wil need to log in via one of these portals:
Commons ID
NIH ID
Open ID (Google account) 1 2 3

30. Basic Personal Information
After login, users are navigated to the Basic Personal Information screen. This only occurs the first time they log in

31. Select Role screen
Once the Basic Personal Information form is submitted, user is navigated to the screen where he/she can select their appropriate role.

32. APPLICATION MENU BAR 1 2
All sections of the application are displayed in tabbed format (application menu bar) at the top of the page; you can advance by clicking on tabs or pressing save at bottom of screen
Applicant can select the LRP, award type, length and mentored or independent status
Status of completion for each page indicated as follows:
If form is complete, the green icon displayed next to it.
If form is not complete, the red icon displayed next to it. 3

33. Application menu bar 1
Here all roles are identified. The number of roles displayed relates to roles of the individual (e.g., some are applicants and mentors, etc)
You can start application without Commons ID#, but cannot submit; if don’t have Commons ID, just tab through application at top of menu bar to complete sections, saving each section as you go along 2

34. Research information tab
Under “Research Information” tab, applicants upload documents of their:
Research Project/Activities
Personal Statement
Career Development Plan
Research Environment
NIH Biosketch
Research Accomplishments (Renewal Applicants Only)
Jigna: The sections of the Research Information is for research activities documents and listing your recommenders. But let’s take a brief detour from the application and talk a bit about what documents are required in this section of the application. Dr. Boone, would you like to discuss these documents?
Ericka: Sure Jigna. I’ll discuss important documents that need to be developed by the applicant, as well as tips for developing a strong application

35. Referee/Recommender’s portal1 2
Referees/Recommenders can view the list of applicant requests (including application status) in data grid on their dashboards.
To upload reference letter for a particular applicant, Referee/Recommender should select “Edit” option available in the action menu.

36. Mentor’s portal 1 2 3 4 5
Once Mentor selects an applicant name, system will display applicant’s identifying information (name, LRP, etc.)
The list of research forms/documents that should be reviewed by Mentor are found here.
Mentor will need to upload NIH Biosketch(s) for themselves or anyone else helping to support the applicant.
Certify required Mentor’s Assurances.
Mentor is allowed to save, submit or cancel completed form.

37. IBO’s portal 1 2
Once IBO selected name in the grid, system will display applicant’s identifying information (name, LRP, etc.)
Section where IBO will provide the information about applicant’s salary.
Complete certifications for protected research time and resources. 3

38. Wrap Up

39. Summary 5 Extramural LRPs eRA Commons ID Required NIH LRPs will repay:
Up to $70K over 2 yrs in educational loan repayment
Depending on debt level
Coverage of most Federal taxes resulting from the NIH LRP
2 year initial contracts
1 or 2 year competitive renewals
Approximately 1,600 researchers funded yearly
50% application success rate overall
**Applications Deadline - Nov 15, 2016

40. Contact LRP
Website: Phone: (9am to 5pm, EST) Inquiries: Facebook: Please complete and turn in your survey. Thank you for your attention!