# Presentation: 506261

## Clinical Loan Repayment Program

## Public Health Improvement Act (P.L. 106-505)

- Title II, Clinical Research Enhancement Act
- Included requirement for the establishment of
- a loan repayment program for qualified health
- professionals who contract with the federal government
- to conduct clinical research.

- Signed into Law, November 13, 2000

## Definition of clinical research

- “The term clinical research means patient-oriented
- clinical research conducted with human subjects, or research
- on the causes and consequences of disease and human
- populations involving material of human origin(such as tissue
- specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator
- or colleague directly interacts with human subjects in an
- outpatient of 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.”

## 			Eligibility

- U.S. citizens
- Clinical Degree (M.D., Ph.D., Pharm. D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., equivalents)
- Educational debt in excess of 20% of income
- NIH support:
- 	NRSA postdoctoral fellow or trainee
- 	Mentored Career Development Award
- 	First-time recipient of R01, R03, R21 or U01
- 	First-time director of center component
- 	Minority supplement recipient

## Repayment Benefits

- Repay up to a maximum of $35,000 per year on
- debt from
- 	undergrad, grad, health professional tuition
- 	other reasonable educational expenses required
- 		by school attended
- 	reasonable living expenses
- Payments are made directly to lender

## 		Notice in NIH Guide

- January 8, 2002 announced acceptance of applications
- with deadline date of Feb 28, 2002.
- NIDA posted notice on website
- E-mailed notices to
- 	list serve
- 	training grant directors
- 	relevant constituent organizations
- 	program personally contacted known potential
- 		applicants

## Slide 7

## NIH received over 600 applications

- NIDA was assigned 26 for review

## Degrees of applicants

- 11 M.D.
- 10 Ph.D. (9 Psych, 1 Sociology)
- 3 Psy.D.
- 1 J.D.
- 1 Dr. Phil.

## M.D. Specialities

- 3 Psychiatry
- 3 Internal Medicine
- 2 Pediatrics
- 1 Family Practice
- 1 Infectious Diseases
- 1 Medicine

## Review

**briefly assess the applicant's potential for a research career in clinical or pediatric research**.
**emphasized that it should be a review of proposed research or research plans.**
**Asked to concentrate on **
** ****applicant's research career goals and whether the environment will enable the accomplishment of those goals**.

- reviewers relied on
- 	the personal statement,
- 	letters of recommendation,
- 	description of current research,
- 	research statement of proposed research.

## Applications were received 

- electronically and review was
- also handled electronically
- www.lrp.nih.gov

## Slide 13

## Slide 14

## NIH plans to broaden the program:

- Next year individuals whose research
- is supported by foundations, professional
- societies and other non-profit sources
- will be eligible apply in addition to
- NIH grantees.

- Future Directions