FRI Researcher Receives Loan Repayment Award

FRI is pleased to announce that Monique Wilson, Dr.P.H., a Research Scientist at the Social Research Center, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Loan Repayment Program.  In exchange for a two-year commitment to a research career with FRI, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of Dr. Wilson’s qualified repayable educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover her Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments.

Dr. Wilson’s award is funded through NIH’s Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program. The purpose of this repayment program is to attract health professionals to careers in health disparities research.

To qualify for the Loan Repayment Program, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen and have a doctoral degree from an accredited institution.  In addition, s/he must conduct health disparities research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government entity.

In evaluating the applications, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists are asked to consider the following criteria:

	Appropriateness of the applicant’s previous training and experience as preparation for a career in health disparities;
	Suitability of the applicant’s proposed clinical research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in health disparities;
	Assessment of the applicant’s commitment to a research career as reflected by a personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
	Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant’s potential for a health disparities research career;
	Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant’s research independence; and Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Wilson for receiving this award.  Not only is this a great honor for her, but these awards will help her pay off loans accumulated during her doctoral education.

New Appointment to Board of Directors

FRI is pleased to announce the appointment of Wallace B. Pickworth, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors.  Dr. Pickworth is a pharmacologist with over 30 years of preclinical and clinical experience.  He has served as the Principal Investigator/Senior Project Director on various projects for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the private pharmaceutical industry and as a Co-Investigator on extramural grants for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

He is currently a Research Leader and Substance Abuse Pharmacologist at Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation.  Dr. Pickworth also worked at the National Institute on Drug Abuse for over 30 years and has vast experience in the field of substance abuse.

Dr. Pickworth brings exceptional experience to FRI’s Board of Directors and will prove to be a tremendous asset to the organization.  We look forward to many years of service.