For Extramural LRP Applicant: Reference Letters and Monitoring Submissions

For Extramural Applicants

As an extramural LRP applicant, in addition to filling out an application, you must also have colleagues/mentors submit reference letters in support of your application, and your institutional business official (IBO) must attest to certain certifications about you.

A minimum of three reference letters (7,500 character/2 page limit) is required for an LRP applicant, and no more than five will be accepted. For mentored research scientists, one of the reference letters must be from the mentor.

NOTE: In addition to submitting a reference letter, the mentor should also provide an NIH-formatted biosketch to the applicant, as the applicant must upload it to the application.

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When you apply for an NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) award, you (the applicant) are required to have colleagues submit reference letters on your behalf. Persons who submit a reference letter on your behalf are referees. For mentored research scientists, one of the submitted reference letters must be from your mentor.

When you apply for the award, you state whether you are an independent researcher or a mentored research scientist; for definitions, search for the terms "Independent Researcher" or "Mentored Research Scientist" here: https://www.lrp.nih.gov/az-index. See the two sections below for specific information depending on what type of researcher you are.

After you initiate an application with LRP, you receive an email titled "Welcome to the NIH Loan Repayment Programs" from the Division of Loan Repayment (DLR). This email contains instructions on filling out the Colleague Information section of the ASSIST LRP application. It also contains the link that you can send to referees to submit reference letters on your behalf. Mentors only are specified on the Colleague Information section, and mentors receive their own email from LRP describing reference letter submission.

IMPORTANT: Your referees and mentor should not use the "Submit a Reference Letter" link on the main eRA Commons home page; instead they should use this link:
https://public.era.nih.gov/commonsplus/public/lrpreference/referenceLetter.era?mode=referee

If You Are an Independent Researcher

If you are an independent researcher, you can have a minimum of three letters and a maximum of five letters submitted on your behalf. eRA Commons will NOT contact your referees (persons submitting a letter on your behalf) for you; you must reach out to them and give them the information in Information You Should Send to Your Referees (not Mentors) below.

If You Are a Mentored Research Scientist

If you are a mentored research scientist, you can have a minimum of three and maximum of five letters submitted, and one of which must be from your mentor.

In the LRP application, you enter your mentor's information on the Colleague Information tab of ASSIST. (See Colleague Information.) eRA Commons-ASSIST will send an email to your mentor with instructions and a link on how to provide a reference letter. The mentor will receive this link in their email from LRP: https://public.era.nih.gov/commonsplus/public/lrpreference/referenceLetter.era?mode=mentor

Non-mentor referees do not receive an email from the LRP program. For these referees, you must reach out to the referees and provide them with the information in Information You Should Send to Your Referees (not Mentors) below.

Information You Should Send to Your Referees (not Mentors)

You can monitor submissions for your application on both the Personal Profile and Status Information screens of eRA Commons. In addition, you receive regular reminder emails from the LRP program if submissions that are required by your referees or IBO are not made in a timely manner.

See:

Monitoring Reference Letters Submission Through Personal Profile

Monitoring LRP Application Status and Submissions Through Status

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