NIH Loan Repayment Program 2023
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released six separate program announcements for the 2023 application cycle of the NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP). The LRP may repay up to $50,000 of qualified student loan debt per year to outstanding health professionals who commit at least two years to conduct biomedical, behavioral, social, or clinical research, and who agree to engage in such research for an average of at least 20 hours per week based on a 40-hour work week. This includes most undergraduate, graduate, and medical school loans. Loan repayment benefits are in addition to the institutional salary received for research. LRP awards are based on an applicant's potential to build and sustain a research career.
All applications must be submitted through the Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST). ASSIST will begin accepting applications on September 1st, 2022 through November 17, 2022, 8pm EST. The LRP website contains step-by-step instructions of the Application Process, with application instructions and instructional videos.
Potential applicants should carefully read the general eligibility requirements, plus the eligibility requirements and application instructions under each funding announcement. Questions concerning eligibility should be discussed with NIH staff. Find the appropriate contact at the Contact and Engage page.
The six program announcements are:
- NOT-OD-22-148 – LRP for Clinical Researchers (LRP-CR)
- NOT-OD-22-149 – LRP for Pediatric Research (LRP-PR)
- NOT-OD-22-150 – LRP for Health Disparities Research (LRP-HDR)
- NOT-OD-22-151 – Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (LRP-IDB)
- NOT-OD-22-152 – LRP for Contraception and Infertility Research (LRP-CIR)
- NOT-OD-22-153 – LRP for Research in Emerging Areas Critical to Human Health (LRP-REACH)
Please note: Recipients of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) support from an individual postdoctoral fellowship (F32) or an institutional research training grant (T32) will be eligible for loan repayment during the second year of NRSA support. Concurrent fulfillment of LRP and NRSA service obligations is prohibited (see NIH Training Payback). Your NRSA payback obligation cannot begin until after your LRP award ends. Deferral of your NRSA payback obligation will be granted automatically when you accept an LRP award. Questions about the payback requirements while having an LRP award should be directed to the NRSA Payback Service Center, or the LRP Information Center at (866) 849-4047, or Email: [email protected].
All general questions should be directed to the LRP Information Center at (866) 849-4047 or [email protected]. A subsequent announcement will be sent in the coming weeks with more details about the application process.