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NIH Grants and Funding
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of Health
LRP Program Officer
Lindsey Friend, Ph.D.
Research Training and Career Development Program Officer, Office of Research Training
Fellowships, Career Development, Institutional Training, NIDA International Program
NIH Institute/Center
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Biography
Lindsey Friend, Ph.D. is a Research Training and Career Development Program Officer in the Office of Research Training at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Her priority is to assist NIDA's extramural research training and career development programs. Lindsey received her doctorate in neuroscience studying cocaine and cannabinoid effects on reward circuitry. She did a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development studying glutamate receptor physiology before joining NIDA in 2020.
Advice
Give careful attention to the career development plans in your LRP application. The LRP period should have professional growth opportunities throughout. Also, be sure to take advantage of the LRP Ambassador Program!
LRP Program Officer
Bradley M. Cooke, Ph.D.
Neurobiology of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes; Small Business Program; Loan Repayment Program, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases
NIH Institute/Center
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Biography
Brad Cooke, Ph.D. serves as a program director in the division of extramural research at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. He manages the basic, non-clinical research program focused on the neurobiology and behavioral neuroscience of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and has a portfolio in the Small Business Innovative Research program. Before joining NIH, he was an associate professor of neuroscience and psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. His research focused on mechanisms of sexual differentiation in the limbic system. Brad holds a degree in Cognitive Science from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley.
Advice
When preparing your application, make sure to identify how your project will be funded. Remember that the Loan Repayment Program does not fund research, so it is important to clearly indicate the funding source and its duration so that we can be certain your project will be completed.
LRP Program Officer
Astrid C. Haugen, MSEH
Health Specialist, Autism and the Environment, R15 Programs, and Extramural Loan Repayment
Genes, Environment, and Health Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
NIH Institute/Center
National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS)
Biography
Astrid C. Haugen, MSEH, serves as a Health Specialist in the Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). In her role, she manages the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) (R15) and Research Enhancement Award (REAP) (R15) programs and the NIEHS Extramural Loan Repayment program. Additionally, she coordinates activities relevant to programmatic oversight functions for the Autism and Environment program. Previously, she served as a Program Analyst for trans-NIH programs such as Roadmap Epigenomics and Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K).
Before joining DERT in 2008, she spent 18 years as a Biologist in the NIEHS Division of Intramural Research (DIR). Her scientific accomplishments in DIR include being a member of the team that isolated and characterized the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA1. Identification of the BRCA1 gene has had major implications for public health, including early tumor detection, improved prognosis, and new therapeutic strategies. During her last eight years in DIR she worked on system's biology-related research projects involving arsenic-treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as the inherited neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia (FA) for which she defined
transcriptional responses in human subjects and identified sets of genes associated with the accumulation of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage in blood. Astrid holds a B.S. in Biology from Guilford College and an M.S.
in Environmental Health Science, along with a Graduate Certificate in Public Health, from East Carolina University's College of Health and Human Performance and the Brody School of Medicine.
Advice
When preparing your application, ensure that you address each evaluation criterion within the context of the specific LRP program. For example, highlight how your past training and experience have prepared you for a career in pediatric research (if applying for a pediatric-focused LRP) or clinical research (if applying for a clinical-focused LRP). Tailor your responses to the specific LRP!
LRP Program Officer
Shilpy Dixit, Ph.D.
Program Director
NIH Institute/Center
National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Biography
Dr. Dixit is Program Director for Prevention and Sleep Health in the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR) at NHLBI, which supports research focused on the relationship between healthy sleep and physical
health
and
well-being, and chronic disease prevention. Dr. Dixit earned her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University for her research on the detrimental effect of vitamin C deficiency in aging and
neurodegeneration. Her interest in the comorbidities that contribute to neurodegeneration led her to a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where her research focus
was
seizure
susceptibility associated with neurodegenerative injury and disease. The AAAS Science & Technology Fellowship brought Dr. Dixit to NCSDR where she strives to elevate the critical relationship between sleep and circadian
biology
research and health outcomes through coordination across NIH and other Federal agencies, academia and public stakeholders.
Advice
Reach out to your program officer early!
