NIH Loan Repayment Program Focuses on Research

The NIH is accepting applications for extramural loan repayment programs, or LRPs, for physicians interested in biomedical or behavioral research.

The NIH repays up to $35,000 of qualified educational loan debt annually for individuals who conduct at least two years of qualified biomedical or behavioral research at a nonprofit institution. Successful applicants also receive federal tax payments for credit to their Internal Revenue Service tax accounts.

The NIH offers LRPs in five areas: clinical research, pediatric research, health disparities research, contraception and infertility research, and clinical research for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

To qualify, applicants must have a doctoral-level degree and be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or permanent resident. They must devote at least 20 hours per week to research funded by a domestic nonprofit organization or federal, state or local government entity and have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary.

The LRPs are part of federal efforts to attract health professionals to careers in clinical research. Applications must be completed and submitted online on or before Dec. 1.