According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average loan debt of medical school graduates in the class of 2008 was $154,607. To remove this potential financial barrier to pursuing research, the Loan Repayment Program (LRP) two-year award repays up to $35,000 of educational loan debt annually for individuals who commit to conducting two years of qualified biomedical or behavioral research at a nonprofit or government institution of their choice.
On average, nearly 40 percent of all new LRP applications are funded, and the awards are renewable. Since the programs’ inception, NIH has made approximately 7,500 awards that total more than $347 million in loan repayment funds. Initial evaluation has shown that participants in this program stay in research careers longer, apply for and receive more research grants, and become independent investigators more frequently than their peers who do not receive LRP funding.
Building community and supporting young investigators are parts of the major themes NIH Director Francis Collins laid out in his August 17 NIH Town Hall Meeting. Dr. Collins specifically highlighted that funding young investigators will help reinvigorate and empower the biomedical research community.
Know someone who may be eligible for the Loan Repayment Program? Spread the word. During the 2009 application cycle, applicants reported that their mentors and colleagues were key to making them aware of and encouraging them to apply for LRP awards.
The five extramural LRPs are Clinical Research, Pediatric Research, Health Disparities Research, Contraception and Infertility Research, and Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. To qualify for the LRPs, applicants must possess a doctoral-level degree (with the exception of the Contraception and Infertility Research LRP); devote at least 20 hours per week to research funded by a domestic nonprofit organization or federal, state, or local government entity; have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary; and be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident.
Visit www.lrp.nih.gov for more details and to apply.
0 Comments