Loan Repayment Programs

NIH's Loan Repayment Programs help M.D.s and some other doctoral-level professionals pursue research careers by repaying qualifying educational debt.

Table of Contents

• General Information
• Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs)
  • Clinical LRP
  • Pediatric LRP
• Related Links

General Information

• Application window begins September 1 and ends November 15.
• Center for Scientific Review assigns applications to Institutes.
• Applications are peer reviewed and assigned overall impact scores based on the following criteria:
  • Applicant's potential to pursue a career in his or her research area.
  • Quality of applicant's research environment.
  • For renewals only, applicant's progress under the previous project period.
• NIAID reviews its applications in May and selects awardees in June.
• NIH's Division of Loan Repayment makes awards by August. It also does the following:
  • Verifies eligible debt, exact amount of loans, applicants' salaries, and other financial information.
  • Keeps track of changes of institution, mentor, or area of research.
• Awardees can receive up to $35,000 a year plus 39 percent of the loan repayment amount to offset federal taxes. For more details on taxes, read NIH's The LRPs and Taxes.

Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs)

NIAID supports the following programs:

• Clinical Research LRP
• Pediatric Research LRP

For FY 2012, NIAID participated as follows:

• We had a total budget of $5.9 million.
• We received 222 applications and made 118 awards.

Clinical LRP

• Applicants must work directly with patients.
• You can apply even if you aren't a current NIH grantee.
• Most recipients are M.D.s. Some are Ph.D.s working with patients.
• Read more at NIH's Clinical Research LRP and the July 20, 2012, Guide notice.

Pediatric LRP

• Applicants must propose either basic or clinical research with a direct pediatric relevance.
• You can apply even if you aren't a current NIH grantee.
• Most recipients are M.D.s. Some are Ph.D.s and D.V.M.s working in pediatric research. Non-pediatricians have trouble qualifying unless the application clearly explains the pediatric relevance.
• Read more at NIH's Pediatric Research LRP and the July 20, 2012, Guide notice.

Related Links

• NIH Loan Repayment Programs Web site
  • LRP Overview and Mapping Your Career to the NIH webinars.
  • Resources, including news, events, and application advice.
  • Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds.
  • Contraception and Infertility Research LRP.
  • Health Disparities Research LRP.
• NIAID's New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding—explains basic funding concepts and processes to new and would-be principal investigators.

For more information on NIAID's participation in loan repayment programs, contact AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov.