"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be,"wrote poet Robert Browning. At the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Browning's sentiment is more than just words. It's a vision for the future. Since it was established in 1974, NIA scientists have been working diligently to unravel the secrets of aging and translate those findings into practical applications that reduce disability and improve the quality of life for older Americans.
This quest to "add life to years," as some gerontologists like to call it, comes not a moment too soon. For without a doubt, the aging boom is upon us. Life expectancy nearly doubled in the 20th century. Since 1900, the number of Americans age 65 or older has increased 10-fold. The oldest-old,--people age 85 and older constitute the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. As the older population mushrooms, so will its health needs. Aging is an important risk factor associated with disease and disability, including heart disease, stroke and cancer. Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia among those 65 and older, affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans. By 2050, if current population trends continue and no preventive treatments become available, some 13.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease. Finding ways to prevent and treat these health problems is critical.
Scientists supported by the NIA - one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - are attempting to find solutions to these and other problems related to the aging process. As this work evolves and new knowledge accumulates, gerontologists hope to move closer to their ultimate goal of promoting health and independence throughout the lifespan. In Fiscal Year 2004, nearly $1 billion of NIH's budget was allocated to supporting research efforts of the NIA.
Enormous progress is being made. For instance, NIA researchers have discovered dementia and cognitive declines may be predicted as many as 20 years before symptoms appear. They have established that obesity is a risk factor for the development of many age-related diseases and that fat distribution may play a role in the higher incidence of many diseases in men and in their shorter life span. And in recent years, a revolution in genetics, and in molecular and cellular biology, has provided aging research with new sets of tools for understanding the normal aging process as well as disorders that can accompany aging and interfere with independence and the quality of life.
Maintaining this momentum is vital. Unfortunately, the number of physicians entering the field of clinical research has been declining. While there are many reasons for this downward trend, one of the most important factors may be the high levels of educational debt promising new physician-scientists face as they begin their careers. The cost of a medical education today is much less affordable than it was 20 years ago, according to a recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. In turn, this educational indebtedness is linked to undermining the nation's ability to effectively perform and translate crucial research into improved patient care.
The NIH recognizes the potential impact that substantial educational debt can have on individuals who plan to pursue careers in research or academic medicine. Recognizing a national need for more physician-scientists, the U.S. Congress authorized the NIH to establish the Loan Repayment Programs for extramural (non NIH employees) health professionals.
According to Ruth Kirschstein, M.D., Senior Advisor to the Director of the NIH, "The staggering educational debt incurred by our nation's brightest physicians has led many to compromise their dreams, abandon research careers, and pursue other careers. The LRPs help remove that hurdle."
A goal of the Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program, one of five Extramural programs, is to recruit and retain highly qualified physicians and researchers with doctoral-level degrees to clinical research careers using the repayment of educational loans as an incentive.
As a participating institute, the NIA funded 50 percent of all new applications and nearly 90 percent of renewal applications received in Fiscal Year 2004. The applicant pool included those with M.D's, PhD's, Pharm.D's and D.O's.
Beginning in Fiscal Year 2003, the NIH broadened eligibility to its Extramural Loan Repayment Programs to include all doctoral-level researchers with non-profit domestic funding. Prior to that, the program was restricted to researchers with NIH grants.
The Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program is the largest of the Extramural Programs and is intended for health professionals engaged in qualified "clinical research," which is defined by the NIH as "patient-oriented clinical research conducted with human subjects, or research on the causes and consequences of disease in human populations involving material of human origin for which the investigator interacts directly with human subjects in an outpatient or inpatient setting." Researchers admitted to this program investigate matters of human physiology, pathophysiology or disease, conduct epidemiologic or behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or develop new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials.
The NIA fosters a broad spectrum of age-related research initiatives through extramural and intramural programs. Within the framework of the NIA Extramural Programs, scientists focus on four general areas - the biology of aging, health and disease in the elderly, the social and behavioral aspects of aging, and the structure and function of the nervous system as it relates to aging. An important component of the latter focus area is the study of Alzheimer's disease.
The Intramural Programs recruit health professionals to research positions and fellowships (clinical and basic science) at NIH laboratories located primarily at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD, and at the Gerontology Research Center in Baltimore, MD.
The LRPs are open to health professionals with doctoral degrees with different levels of experience and at different stages in their careers. In addition to funding for mid-career and senior-level researchers, the NIA's extramural programs also support fellows-in-training.
To apply to any of the Loan Repayment Programs, you must:
- Have a doctoral-level degree
- Have funding from a domestic non-profit or U.S government entity
- Have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of your institutional base salary
- Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident.
Participants are required to devote 50 percent or more of their time (minimum of 20 hours per week) to qualified research. Federal employees may apply to the Extramural Programs only if they are able to engage in research funded by a non-profit organization that is not part of their Federal responsibilities for the minimum requirement of 20 hours per week.
The current application period for the Extramural Loan Repayment Programs is September 1 to December 15, 2004.
The application process is conducted electronically through the NIH Loan Repayment Programs website at www.lrp.nih.gov.
To speak to a representative from the Office of Loan Repayment, call the LRP Help Line at 866-849-4047, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST, or send e-mail inquiries to lrp@nih.gov.
In exchange for a two-year commitment to conduct research, the NIH Loan Repayment Programs may repay up to $35,000 annually of a participant's qualified educational loan debt.
In addition, the NIH covers Federal and state tax liabilities directly resulting from loan repayment.
In Fiscal Year 2004, nearly 90 percent of awardees were less than 10 years from receipt of their doctoral degrees.
Almost 60 percent received their degrees within the past 5 years.
"The NIH is one of the world's premier research institutions, with world-class training opportunities and great resources. Loan Repayment participants will be involved in the national effort to protect and improve human health; to understand the processes underlying human health; and to acquire new knowledge to help, prevent, diagnose, and treat human diseases and disabilities."
"I know of no opportunity as rewarding as this."
- Marc Horowitz, Director, NIH Office of Loan Repayment and Scholarship
|
