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NIH offers $35,000 in annual student loan repayment The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting applications to its five Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) for qualified students seeking reimbursement on health profession education debt.   The five LRPs offered by the NIH include the Clinical Research LRP, Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, Contraception and Infertility Research LRP, Health Disparities Research LRP, and Pediatric Research LRP.   Through these programs, NIH offers to repay up to $35,000 annually of the qualified educational debt of health professionals pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral research. The programs also provide coverage for federal and state tax liabilities.   To qualify, applicants must possess a doctoral-level degree, devote 50 percent or more of their time to research funded by a non-profit organization or government entity (federal, state or local), and have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of their institutional base salary. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or U.S. nationals to be eligible.   NIH LRPs offer an easy and effective way for research scientists to focus more on medical research and less on repaying student loans, said Norka Ruiz Bravo, deputy Director for Extramural Research at the NIH. Since 2002, about 4,800 qualified health professionals have benefited from nearly $300 million disbursed in loan repayment support, he said.   All applications must be completed by 8 p.m. EST, Dec. 1. Visit http://www.lrp.nih.gov to apply.     Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.