Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (93.220)

Program

93.220 Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Office: National Institutes of Health

Authorization

Publich Health Service Act, Title IV, Part G, Section 41631, Public Law 100-43, 288-5 U.S.C.

Program Number

93.220

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To recruit and retain health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds to conduct clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by providing for the repayment of educational loans for participants with substantial amounts of educational debt relative to income, who agree by written contract to engage in clinical research as employees of the NIH for a minimum two-year period.

Types of Assistance

PROJECT GRANTS

Uses and Use Restrictions

To provide repayment of extant educational loans incurred by health professionals engaged, as employees of the NIH, in clinical research. Recipients must agree by written contract to engage in such research, initially, for a minimum of 2 years; individuals who have conflicting service obligations may not participate in this program until those obligations are satisfied or have been deferred during the period of program service. One-year continuation contracts are available, dependent upon the level of debt and continued involvement in clinical research. Maximum program benefit is $35,000 per year in loan repayments and $13,650 per year in Federal tax reimbursements. Recipients must have qualified educational debt in excess of 20 percent of their annual salary, which is referred to as their "debt threshold." An amount equal to half of this "debt threshold" will not be repaid by NIH and must be paid by the Program participants.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Eligible applicants must: (1) Be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States; (2) possess a M.D., Ph.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.P.M., A.D.N., B.S.N., or equivalent degree; or hold the position of Physician Assistant; (3) come from a disadvantaged background as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (4) have qualified educational debt, which results from governmental or commercial loans obtained to support their undergraduate and/or graduate education, in excess of 20 percent of their annual NIH salary on the program eligibility date; (5) be appointed under any temporary or permanent employment mechanism in the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, so long as their employment has the potential to last a minimum of 2 years; (6) are not eligible to participate in the CR-LRP if they have an existing service obligation to Federal, State, or other entities, until such obligation is discharged or unless it is deferred during the period of program service; (7) submit an application to participate in the CR-LRP; and (8) sign and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the time of agreeing to accept repayment of educational loans, a contract agreeing to engage in clinical research as an employee of the NIH for a minimum of 2 years.

Beneficiary Eligibility

Clinical researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds who have unpaid educational loans will benefit from this program.

Credentials/Documentation

Applicants must submit documentation of the following, as appropriate: (1) Copies of loan applications and agreements from governmental or commercial educational loans which are being submitted for repayment; (2) copies of the standard student budget from each school attended during period when debt was incurred; (3) copies of recommendations, special skills, certifications, or other copies of loan documentation; (4) certification from the school(s) attended that the applicant qualified for participation in an educational assistance program for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds which are sponsored by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or self-certification describing circumstances which qualify him/her under the Secretary's definition of an individual from a disadvantaged background; and (5) other documentation as may be required by law. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. Applicants must access and submit the Loan Repayment Program application electronically via the website www.lrp.nih.gov; seek qualified employment with a sponsoring Institute or Center (IC) of the NIH. Once an application has been submitted, the Loan Repayment Committee reviews it at a regularly scheduled review meeting and a determination of loan repayment recipients is made.

Award Procedure

The NIH Loan Repayment Committee (LRC) will review, rank, and approve or disapprove applications recommended for program participation by each Institute or Center (IC). Applications approved for program participation by the LRC will be notified by the Program Director. The Secretary, or his designee, will sign the service contract of program participants, provide a copy to the participant, and notice of the amount of approved loan repayment.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

From 90 to 120 days. The approximate time for approval/disapproval is 3 months.

Appeals

From 90 to 120 days. Employees of the NIH who are not approved as a result of this process may ask for reconsideration through the standard appeal procedures available to employees.

Renewals

From 90 to 120 days. At the conclusion of the initial 2-year contract, participants may apply and be recommended for subsequent 1-year continuation contracts under the application and approval procedures specified above.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Assistance is available for a minimum 2-year period. One-year, continuation contracts are available for individuals whose educational debt exceeds the maximum repayable amount for 2 years and whose renewal ranking scores within the funding range. Payments are made directly to lenders, following each quarter of the participant's satisfactory service, unless otherwise agreed upon by the participant and Secretary of Health and Human Services. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: quarterly.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Program participants must be certified quarterly as to having satisfactorily performed their research assignments. Cash reports are not applicable. Progress reports are not applicable. Expenditure reports are not applicable. Performance monitoring is not applicable.

Audits

No audits are required for this program.

Records

The NIH will maintain applicant records for 3 years after rejection and participant records for 6 years after completion of final service obligation.

Grantees generally must retain financial and programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records that are required by the terms of a grant, or may reasonably be considered pertinent to a grant, for a period of 3 years from the date the annual FSR is submitted. For awards under SNAP (other than those to foreign organizations and Federal institutions), the 3-year retention period will be calculated from the date the FSR for the entire competitive segment is submitted. Those grantees must retain the records pertinent to the entire competitive segment for 3 years from the date the FSR is submitted to NIH. Foreign organizations and Federal institutions must retain records for 3 years from the date of submission of the annual FSR to NIH. See 45 CFR 74.53 and 92.42 for exceptions and qualifications to the 3-year retention requirement (e.g., if any litigation, claim, financial management review, or audit is started before the expiration of the 3-year period, the records must be retained until all litigation, claims, or audit findings involving the records have been resolved and final action taken). Those sections also specify the retention period for other types of grant-related records, including F&A cost proposals and property records. See 45 CFR 74.48 and 92.36 for record retention and access requirements for contracts under grants.
In accordance with 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 74.53(e), the HHS Inspector General, the U.S. Comptroller General, or any of their duly authorized representatives have the right of timely and unrestricted access to any books, documents, papers, or other records of recipients that are pertinent to awards in order to make audits, examinations, excerpts, transcripts, and copies of such documents. This right also includes timely and reasonable access to a recipient�s personnel for the purpose of interview and discussion related to such documents. The rights of access are not limited to the required retention period, but shall last as long as records are retained.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: Nine awards were made in fiscal year 2008. Fiscal Year 2009: Three awards were made in fiscal year 2009. Fiscal Year 2010: NIH projects that nine awards will be granted in 2010.

Financial Information

Account Identification

75-6846-0-1-552.

Obligations

(Project Grants) FY 08 $309,000; FY 09 est $77,000; FY 10 est $361,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

For initial 2-year contracts, loan repayments range from $4,000 to $70,000, Tax reimbursements range from $1,977 to $34,598. The average contract cost which includes loan and tax reimbursement is $68,454.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

Pertinent information is contained in Public Law 103-43, Section 1631; Section 487E of Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288-5); Public Law 105-392; Federal Register, Volume 59, No. 201, October 19, 1994; 42 CFR Part 68a Federal Register, Volume 63, No. 210, October 30, 1998.

Related Programs

93.162 National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program; 93.164 Indian Health Service Educational Loan Repayment; 93.342 Health Professions Student Loans, Including Primary Care Loans/Loans for Disadvantaged Students; 93.364 Nursing Student Loans; 93.936 National Institutes of Health Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Loan Repayment Program

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Patricia A. Cole, PhD Office of Intramural Training and Education
National Institutes of Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Building 2, Room 2E18
2 Center Drive
, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0230 Email: colep@mail.nih.gov Phone: 3014021283 Fax: 3014802942

Web Site Address

www.lrp.nih.gov .

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2009: Cephalic phase of insulin secretion is a well documented physiological response that is regulated by autonomic and endocrine responses to food-related sensory stimulation such as sight, smell and taste. Human taste perception comprises of at least five distinct qualities: bitterness, saltiness, sourness, sweetness, and umami. Umami is a sensation elicited by glutamate, commonly found in protein such as meat, fish, and legumes as well as flavor enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (MSG). Both the sweet and and umami taste stimuli had been shown to illicit cephalic-phase insulin release in rats. Oral sensory stimulation in human with modified sham feeding (MSF - where food is smelled, tasted, and chewed, but not swallowed) had been shown to elicit the same response. The loss of this cephalic phase in insulin response has been shown to impair glucose tolerance. Furthermore, patients with type 2 diabetes and their first degree relatives had been shown to have impairment of sweet taste. Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Applicants are approved for participation in the NIH Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program after the LRC determines that the applicant will conduct qualified clinical research and qualifies as being from a disadvantaged background. LRC approval, in part, is based upon the scientific merit of the research and the credentials of the applicant as they relate to performing qualified clinical research.