Thursday, June 9, 2011

Can I list my NIH Loan Repayment on my biosketch?

Are you confused as to whether to list your NIH LRP on your biosketch? To me, this really is a judgement call. The program is desribed by NIH as follows:



NIH wants to encourage outstanding health professionals to pursue careers in biomedical, behavioral, social, and clinical research. If you commit at least two years to conducting qualified research funded by a domestic nonprofit organization or U.S. federal, state, or local government entity, NIH may repay up to $35,000 of your qualified student loan debt per year, including most undergraduate, graduate, and medical school loans. Loan repayment benefits are in addition to the institutional salary you receive for your research.

Basically, the LRP is paying your loans if you are conducting research. While this technically does not qualify as a research grant, being awarded an LRP does suggest that NIH thinks you have something to offer.

Now, here are the biographical sketch instructions:



D. Research Support. List both selected ongoing and completed (during the last
three years) research projects (Federal or non-Federal support). Begin with the projects that are most relevant to the research proposed in this application.
Briefly indicate the overall goals of the projects and responsibilities of the
Senior/Key Person identified on the Biographical Sketch. Do not include number
of person months or direct costs.

While this does not expressly state that you can or can't include the LRP on your biosketch, I suggest that you go ahead an include it. If you are early enough in your career to have an LRP, it is likely that you do not have 4 pages worth of publications and research projects to list on your biosketch. So go ahead and list it if it makes you happy. To me, it doesn't appear as if you will be breaking any rules, since it is technically NIH supporting your research career.

1 comment:

  1. I am going to put it on mine. I consider it a grant, and my biosketch is only 2 pages so at least it shows some kind of track record.

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