Loan Repayment Programs

NIH Loan Repayment Programs help M.D.s and some other doctoral-level professionals pursue research careers by repaying qualifying educational debt.

Table of Contents

General Information

  • Application window begins September 1 and ends November 15.
  • Center for Scientific Review assigns applications to Institutes.
  • Applications are peer reviewed and assigned overall impact/priority scores based on the following criteria:
    • Applicant's potential to pursue a career in his or her research area.
    • Quality of applicant's research environment.
    • For renewals only, applicant's progress under the previous project period.
  • NIAID reviews its applications in May and selects awardees in June.
  • NIH's Division of Loan Repayment makes awards by August. It also does the following:
    • Verifies eligible debt, exact amount of loans, applicants' salaries, and other financial information.
    • Keeps track of changes of institution, mentor, or area of research.
  • Awardees can receive up to $35,000 a year plus 39 percent of the loan repayment amount to offset federal taxes. For more details, go to Taxes in the Award section of NIH's Division of Loan Repayment website.

Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs)

NIAID supports the following programs:

Clinical LRP

Pediatric LRP

  • Applicants must conduct either basic or clinical research with a direct pediatric relevance.
  • You can apply even if you aren't a current NIH grantee.
  • Most recipients are M.D.s. Some are Ph.D.s and D.V.M.s working in pediatric research.
  • Read more at NIH's Pediatric Research LRP and the June 26, 2018 Guide notice.

Related Links

Contact

For more information on NIAID participation in loan repayment programs, contact Dr. Shawn Gaillard.

Content last reviewed on September 28, 2018