Impact of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Loan Repayment Program Funding on Retention of the National Institutes of Health Biomedical Workforce

Background: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) were established by Congress in 2000 to help attract and retain highly qualified health professionals in biomedical careers by relieving financial pressure incurred from educational loans obtained during medical school and other advanced-degree clinical training programs. In 2019, the NIH LRP Program increased the maximum repayment from $35,000 per year to $50,000 per year for an individual’s educational debt in return for two years of research performed in an NIH mission-relevant area (https://www.lrp.nih.gov/eligibility-programs). In addition, in 2020, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) increased its participation in the LRP by adding the Health Disparities Research Program to Clinical Research and Pediatric Research Programs. Objective: Before these substantive changes took effect, we sought to determine the impact of the NHLBI’s participation in the LRP program on retention of scientists in the biomedical research workforce over the past 20 years. Methods: NHLBI LRP applicant cohorts from 2003 and 2008 were carefully examined with a 10-year follow-up period to measure the impact of applying for and obtaining NIH LRP funding on subsequent K- and R-level application and award rates, publication number, and average relative citation ratio as metrics to assess recruitment and retention of scientists in the biomedical research workforce. Results: Obtaining the LRP award was strongly associated with increased submission of and success in obtaining K- and RPG-grant funding and publications for both the 2003 and 2008 NHLBI LRP cohorts. An analysis of subgroups in the 2008 LRP cohort without prior F, K, or RPG funding revealed a consistently strong association between obtaining an LRP award and subsequent K- or RPG-award submission and success as well as potential synergy between obtaining an LRP award and participation on a T grant toward subsequent K- or RPG-award success rates. Conclusion: The LRP award appears to enhance retention in the biomedical research workforce when measured using metrics of grant application and award rates as well as research publications over a 10-year period.