Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) announce the 2005 Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research (HDR-LRP or Program). The HDR-LRP provides for the repayment of educational loan debt of up to $35,000 annually for qualified health professionals conducting minority health or other health disparities research for domestic non-profit or government entities. In addition, payments equal to 39 percent of the loan repayments are issued to the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of the program participants to offset Federal tax liabilities incurred as a result of participating in the program. The Program may also provide reimbursement for State and local tax liabilities. The purpose of the HDR-LRP is the recruitment and retention of highly qualified health professionals to research careers that focus on minority health or other health disparity issues. Through this notice, NIH and NCMHD invite qualified health professionals who contractually agree to engage in minority health or other health disparities research for at least two years, and who agree to engage in this area of research for at least 50 percent of their time, i.e., not less than 20 hours per week, to apply for participation in the Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research.