LRP Director's Blog

Happy New Year! I sincerely hope you had a restful, and enjoyable holiday season. As you know, the 2019 LRP application cycle officially closed on November 15th, and more than 2600 researchers from across the country submitted applications! If you were one of the 2600+ applicants, the Division of Loan Repayment (DLR) thanks you for your enthusiastic response! 2019 is shaping up to be an exciting one so be sure to stay tuned for additional updates.  As a reminder, our application cycle timeline is available so you can keep track of where we are in the post-application submission process.   If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the LRP Information Center via phone at 1-866-849-4047 or via email at lrp@nih.gov. You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for cycle updates.

Spring has arrived and the Division of Loan Repayment (DLR) has been hard at work!  For today's DLR Director's Blog, I'd like to take a moment and provide a few brief updates on where we are in the LRP application cycle as well as communications efforts here at DLR.
Back in November, we received over 3000 LRP applications!  Since then, we have been busy ensuring that all applications were forwarded to the NIH Center for Scientific Review so that they could all undergo review by the appropriate NIH Institutes and Centers. If you missed my last post about what happens at each point in the application cycle, you can catch up here.   Also, if you have questions about your application, please feel free to reach out to an LRP program officer.
Have you seen our LRP Ambassador webpage lately?  We've revised our LRP Success Story layout! The new layout has a more modern feel and highlights our esteemed Ambassadors' backgrounds, research interests and the impact that receiving and LRP award has made on their research career.  Our Ambassadors provide a great service to the LRPs by providing information to prospective LRP applicants at their local universities regarding their experiences with the LRPs and the benefits that it has provided to their life and careers. If you are a past or present LRP awardee and would like to be featured, please send an email to LRP.Communications@mail.nih.gov.
Lastly, in an effort to publicize the fantastic benefits of the LRPs, we travel quite a bit throughout the year.  Be sure to check below for our upcoming conferences as well as our website for a meeting near you. (https://www.lrp.nih.gov/conferences) 

If you any questions about the LRPs, feel free to call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at 866-849-4047 (Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST) or lrp@nih.gov. You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for more information and cycle updates. Cheers to an outstanding 2018!

The 2018 LRP application cycle officially closed on November 15th, and more than 2700 researchers from across the country submitted applications! If you were one of the 2700+ applicants, the Division of Loan Repayment (DLR) thanks you for your enthusiastic response!  We are constantly seeking ways to improve our application process and make it as painless as possible for our applicants. Many of you have been kind enough to reach out to us with any issues, and also with praise.  In fact, MANY of you have reached out to let us know that the new online application process was a breeze! 

Now that your application is submitted, I’m sure you are wondering what happens next. Please take a look at the attached LRP timeline.  It’ll help you can stay abreast of the post-application submission process.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the LRP Information Center via phone at 1-866-849-4047 or via email at lrp@nih.gov.  You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for cycle updates.

As you make your way through the application process, I hope you’ve taken advantage of the many resources that we have available to ensure you have a pleasant experience applying for an LRP.  The LRP Ambassador Program, one of our most personable resources, is also a phenomenal asset for potential applicants!  LRP Ambassadors are a Nation-wide network of LRP awardees and supporters that serve as a personalized link/connection between the NIH LRPs and potential applicants at their home institutions.  LRP Ambassadors provide advice and encouragement regarding the LRP application process, their experiences, and more.  Want to find an Ambassador near you?  Search the LRP Ambassador Directory! 

As an example of the dynamic impact that an Ambassador can make at their local institutions, I want to highlight Dr. Dionna Williams, LRP Ambassador and Postdoctoral fellow at John Hopkins University.  Dr. Williams recently hosted a networking forum for fellows and junior faculty to learn more about the NIH LRPs and the application process.  With the help of her colleague, Dr. Jelani Zarif, Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantage Background LRP recipient, Dr. Williams was able to secure her Health Disparities Research LRP award.  After receiving the award, you can imagine Dr. Williams felt the need to pay it forward.

What is your current occupation and research focus?

My long-term research goal is to translate what I’ve learned from HIV to other neurodegenerative disorders to reduce the disproportionate burden of HIV and neurologic disease in underrepresented minority populations.

How did the LRP Ambassador Hopkins event come to fruition?

The LRP Ambassador Program is incredibly helpful as it allows a point of contact for interested applicants. I’d received many emails and questions from friends and colleagues about the LRPs, so I decided that an open forum format would be an ideal way to answer questions for a larger audience. Also, I know from my own experience, that meeting with someone from your own institution gives you hope that it is possible to develop and submit a successful LRP application!

What is a surprising benefit that you’ve experienced via the LRP Ambassador Program?

The most surprising benefit was initiating a collaboration with a fellow investigator at Hopkins who had complementary research interests as mine!  I don’t’ think I would have ever known about this investigator had I not had access to the LRP Ambassador directory. 

How has receiving an LRP award impacted your career?

The LRP award has benefitted my career tremendously! My student loans from college entered repayment at the beginning of my postdoctoral fellowship. This was a major financial challenge at a critical point in my career. I was highly motivated to pursue a research career in academia; however, I briefly considered moving to industry because of the financial opportunities possible in that venue. Thankfully, I was awarded the Health Disparities LRP! It has substantially relieved my financial pressures and the protected time allowed me to focus entirely on my research, which included further developing and pursuing health disparities-focused interests that I otherwise would not have been able to pursue. As a result, I amassed preliminary data that was used to support a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, which I recently received!  I am now applying for tenure-track faculty positions. I don’t think any of this would have been possible if I had not received loan repayment support from the NIH LRPs!

As you can see from Dr. Williams’ journey, the benefits of the LRPs reach far beyond just repayment of student loan debt. 

As a reminder, the NIH LRP application cycle is winding down quickly.  If you haven’t had an opportunity to take part in our recent Twitter chat, LRP application technical assistance webinar or join one of our talks at your local university/institution, I’d like to take a take a few moments to remind you of a few of our resources that can assist you as you complete your LRP application prior.  The deadline is November 15th!

• NIH LRP website – Check our website to learn about the programs, basic eligibility criteria and more.
• NIH LRP Program Officer – Reach out to an NIH LRP Program Officer to learn whether your research fits under the mission and priorities of the NIH Institute or Center that you want to fund your LRP.
• LRP Application Instruction Guide – Download it, study it and follow the instructions to ensure an easy application submission process!
• Tips for Completing a Competitive Application – Find out the “secret sauce” for a successful application by reading these tips!
• LRP Application Technical Assistance Webinar – View to gain a better understanding of important elements of the application process!

If you want to learn more about the NIH LRPs, please utilize the resources I outlined in this blog, and also call or e-mail the LRP Information Center at 866-849-4047 (Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST) or lrp@nih.gov. You can also follow the NIH Division of Loan Repayment on Twitter and Facebook for more information and cycle updates.