NCCIH Research Blog

Student loan debt is a common barrier for health professionals starting and sustaining a biomedical or biobehavioral research career. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs established by Congress that aim to address this known barrier. 

Did you know that NIH may repay up to $100,000 of your qualified student loan debt over 2 years, including most undergraduate, graduate, and medical school loans? The goal of these potentially life-changing programs is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals in biomedical or biobehavioral research careers by lessening the burden of student loans. This NIH program will benefit those committed to a career in biomedical research. 

About 50 percent of LRP applications are funded each year, and the mean award is $57,582. Many researchers have had all their student loan debt repaid by the NIH LRPs (over several awards by applying for competitive renewals). An interactive dashboard provides a snapshot of awards that have been distributed since Fiscal Year 2013.  

Who Can Apply for NIH Loan Repayment?

• To qualify, you need to have your terminal-level degree, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, have educational loan debt that is at least 20 percent of your annual income, and commit to conduct research for at least 20 hours per week (for the entirety of your LRP contract) at a domestic nonprofit, university, or government organization. Masters-level degrees or certifications, or individuals pursuing strictly clinical careers, are not eligible for the LRPs. 
• You need to have a biomedical doctoral degree (e.g., Ph.D. or M.D.) including clinical doctoral degrees, or a doctoral degree in a complementary health practice (e.g., Ph.D., N.D., D.A.O.M., D.C., D.O., D.N.P.), or both.
• There are six extramural NIH LRPs to choose from, depending on the focus of your research. All applicants will need an NIH eRA Commons ID to apply using the LRP online application.
• Researchers who were not successful in getting funded are strongly encouraged to reapply. There is no limit on the number of times an individual can apply.

Does NCCIH Participate in Any Loan Repayment Programs?

Yes! The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) participates in the following five LRPs:

• Clinical Research LRP for patient-oriented research conducted with human subjects.
• Pediatric Research LRP for research directly related to diseases, disorders, and other health conditions in children.
• Health Disparities Research LRP for research that focuses on minority health disparity populations.
• Clinical Research for Individuals From Disadvantaged Backgrounds LRP for an individual from a disadvantaged background who conducts patient-oriented research with human subjects.
• Research in Emerging Areas Critical to Human Health LRP for research in emerging, high-priority areas. 

Applicants who submit their LRP applications to NCCIH must have a research project aligned with one of these LRP focus areas as well as NCCIH’s mission and priority areas, as described in our strategic plan.  

How Do I Apply for an NIH Loan Repayment Program? 

Visit the NIH loan repayment website for details on how to apply. Check out the step-by-step Application Process Interactive Roadmap to understand the application process from start to finish. 

Questions?

You can contact the LRP Information Center by emailing lrp@nih.gov or calling (866) 849-4047, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.

You can also contact me at jennifer.baumgartner@nih.gov to discuss research priority areas for NCCIH.

For More Information

• Review the Tips for Writing a Competitive LRP Application.
• Read the LRP FAQs.
• Follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter/X and Facebook for updates. 
• Look into the LRP Ambassador Program to connect with past and present LRP awardees. 
• Subscribe to the LRP mailing list for the latest announcements.