FEDERAL AGENCY:

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AUTHORIZATION:

Public Health Service Act; Title IV, Subtitle D, Part G, Section 487E, as amended; Public Law 106-554; 42 U.S.C. 288-5.

OBJECTIVES:

The purpose of the Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds is to encourage the recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds to conduct clinical research. Clinical research consists of 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 the 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 epidemiologic or behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

To provide repayment of existing educational loan debt incurred by health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds engaged in clinical research. Recipients must execute a written contract agreeing to engage in such research for a minimum of two years. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or the Secretary's designee, may grant extension contracts for one-year periods after the completion of the initial two-year contract, provided that the participant applies for an extension, continues to engage in qualified research, and there is sufficient repayable debt remaining.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   An eligible applicant must: (1) be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States; (2) have a Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., Psy.D., Pharm.D., N.D., Sc.D., or other equivalent doctorate degree; (3) Participants must come from a disadvantaged background; (4) have qualifying outstanding educational loan debt equal to or in excess of a certain percentage of the applicant's annual salary, stipend, and compensation at the time an application is submitted; (5) not be an employee of NIH; (6) have research sponsors or mentors with experience in the area of proposed research and may be enrolled in a training program or appointed under a temporary or permanent employment mechanism for at least two years; (7) have institutional assurance of employment or affiliation with an institution or program for a minimum of two years; (8) agree to conduct qualified clinical research for a minimum of two years; (9) not be under any existing service obligations to Federal, State, or other entities, unless and until the existing service obligation is discharged or deferred during the period of program service; and (10) not have Federal judgment liens against their property arising from a Federal debt from receiving Federal funds until all judgments have been paid in full or otherwise satisfied.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Qualified health professionals from a disadvantaged background who conduct clinical research and who possess substantial unpaid educational debt relative to income will benefit from this program.

Credentials/Documentation:   An applicant must submit the following documentation: (1) all required forms, completed, signed and dated; (2) proposed research and training plan; (3) the credentials or curriculum vitae of the applicant and all mentors/advisors; (4) a description of the research/training environment; (5) institutional assurance; (6) loan verification forms for each educational loan being submitted for repayment along with corresponding promissory notes, loan applications and school budgets; (7) recommendations; (8) contract; and (9) other documentation as may be required by law, regulation, or guidelines.

Pre-application Coordination:   Not applicable. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   An application for participation in the program can be obtained from www.lrp.nih.gov and should be submitted to the NIH office, which is responsible for the receipt of applications, in such form and manner as the Secretary or the authorized designee may prescribe.

Award Procedure:   All eligible and completed applications will be forwarded to the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) Loan Repayment Review Panel (Panel), chaired by the Deputy Director, NCMHD, for review. Awards will be made to those applications approved by the Panel, subject to the receipt of an appropriation and/or allocation of funds from the United States Congress, the NIH and/or the NCMHD. All selections are subject to final approval by the Secretary or the authorized designee.

Deadlines:   Contact the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities listed below for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   The approximate time for approval/disapproval is 5-6 months.

Appeals:   Applicants may question the substantive or procedural aspects of the review of their application by communicating with NCMHD staff. A description of the NIH Peer Review Appeal procedures is available on the NIH home page http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not97-232.html.

Renewals:   After the completion of the initial two-year contract, participants may apply for a one year extension contract provided the participant continues to engage in qualified research and has outstanding repayable debt remaining. Applications submitted for an extension are reviewed and selected for funding on a competitive basis.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   This program has no statutory formula or matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   An initial contract provides assistance for a two year period, and an extension contract provides for assistance for a one year period. Program payments will be made directly to lenders, following each quarter of the participant's satisfactory service, unless otherwise agreed upon by the participant and Secretary or authorized designee.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Participants must be periodically certified to have satisfactorily performed the duties of their positions.

Audits:   Not applicable. This program has no statutory audit requirements.

Records:   The NCMHD will retain applicant records for three years after rejection and participant records for six years after completion of final service obligation.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   75-0897-0-1-552.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 $1,388,116; FY 02 est $1,950,000; and FY 03 est $2,056,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  
FY15: (1) Extramural Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research (LRP-HDR) contracts: total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $1 to $70,000; average $21,171.40. FY16 and FY17 estimates not available. (2) Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (LRP-IDB) contracts: total awards made by the NIMHD ranged from $1 to $70,000; average $24,090.63. FY16 and FY17 estimates not available.

For fiscal year 2001, the first year in which funding was available,the NCMHD received 24 applications and made 17 awards. It is anticipated that the NCMHD will make 25 awards for fiscal year 2002 and 27 awards for fiscal year 2003.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Pertinent information is contained in Public Law 106-554; Section 487E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288-5).

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  
Joan E. Wasserman 6707 Democracy Blvd. Suite 800, Bethesda, Maryland 20817 Email: joan.wasserman@nih.gov Phone: 3015941788

Web Site Address:  
http://www.nimhd.nih.gov

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

HIV-specific T-helper and CTL responses in viral vertically infected children; Evaluations of immunologic correlates of human papiloma virus infection and disease progression; Treatment in children with congenital heart disease; Oral disease and prevention amongst urban elderly populations; Psoriasis phenotype and atopic dermatitis; Genetic epidemiology and pathophysiological mechanisms of dyspepsia; Antiresorptive therapy for osteopenia associated with chronically immobilized children and adults with neuromuscular disease; Examining for the presence of local hypoxia in chondrosarcoma as a potential mechanism; Cognitive remediation program for childhood cancer survivors.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

The major elements in evaluating applications/proposals include the assessment of the following: (1) personal statement; (2) proposed research project and its scientific merit (priority will be given to biomedical and behavioral researchers); (3) training plan and environment (which includes the research program, the facilities/environment, the mentor/advisor's training, the applicant's training); (4) loan debt ratio and any associated impediments that may affect the applicant's decision to pursue a research career; and (5) references.