NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP)

The congressionally-established National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) help repay qualified educational debt of health professionals conducting NIH mission-relevant biomedical, behavioral, clinical, or health disparities research. Successful applicants may receive up to $50,000 per year in NIH loan repayment benefits toward qualified educational debt repaid by the NIH in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research. LRP benefits are in addition to the institutional salary. Refer to the LRP site and the Loan Repayment Program FAQs for additional information.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

• Possess a qualifying doctoral-level degree (such as an M.D., Ph.D, Pharm.D., Psy.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M., or equivalent degree) from an accredited institution.
• Qualifying educational debt. The sum of your educational debt must equal at least 20 percent of your institutional base salary from the institution supporting your research.
• Conducting research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. government (Federal, State or local) entity. A domestic foundation, professional association, or institution is considered to be nonprofit if exempt from federal tax under the provisions of Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501).
• Conducting qualifying research that represents 50 percent or more of total level of effort and consumes an average of at least 20 hours per week during each quarterly service period.
• United States citizenship (or U.S. national or permanent resident status). 

APPLICATION WINDOW:

• The annual application window opens on September 1
• The final due date is generally in mid-November, but the exact date varies each year; please check the LRP’s website

Applicants should review the NIH LRP website each year for current deadlines, program-specific eligibility requirements, and application instructions. 

FOR APPLICANTS:

• Applications are completed in NIH’s ASSIST system in eRA Commons, and are submitted by the applicant
  • You will need an eRA Commons ID to apply; please contact OSP to request a Commons ID if you do not have one (ospawards@osp.utah.edu)
• Detailed help information for the LRP module in ASSIST is available here
• If you need assistance with your application, please contact your department’s pre-award staff to inquire about any assistance that may be available; otherwise, the applicant is responsible for completing and submitting their application in ASSIST
• Initial LRP contracts generally require a two-year research commitment. Researchers who continue to meet eligibility requirements may apply for competitive renewals. 

Institutional Business Officer

• In the Colleague Information section of your application, you will need to enter an Institutional Business Officer (IBO)
  • The IBO verifies applicant eligibility, institutional affiliation, citizenship, and salary within the LRP module in ASSIST
• Aubrey Bostick (Commons ID: AUBREYBOSTICK) in the Office of Sponsored Projects is the designated IBO
  • If Aubrey is unavailable, the alternate IBO is Todd Bjorklund (Commons ID TODDBJORKLUND)

University of Utah Process:

• Please send an email to aubrey.bostick@osp.utah.edu to let her know you will be applying to the LRP; include your UNID and Full Name, and the Emails for your Dean, Department and/or Division Chair and Departmental Administrative Contact.
  • Aubrey will work with Human Resources and your departmental leadership to obtain the necessary verifications and will enter the institutional certifications in the LRP system
  • This verification must be completed NIH's annual application deadline. It takes time for us to gather the necessary information for the validation, so please contact Aubrey as soon as you know you will be applying.
• Please contact Aubrey before submitting your application in ASSIST; if Aubrey is not available, the IBO cannot be easily changed after you have submitted the application
• NOTE: LRP applications do not require a Document Summary Sheet (DSS) from eProposal; payments are made directly to the lenders and are not made to or managed by the University of Utah

For more information, review the NIH LRP website.