May 7, 2009
Lisa Spellman, UNMC Public Relations, (402) 559-4693, lspellman@unmc.edu
News releases are archived on the UNMC Web site at:
https://app1.unmc.edu/publicaffairs/newsarchive/releases.cfm
The NIH recently awarded its largest grant in
The $17.2 million National Institutes of Health grant supports the INBRE program at UNMC and is funded through the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) and comes from the
“The goal of the INBRE program is to create a statewide biomedical research infrastructure that provides research opportunities for undergraduate students and serves as a pipeline for those students to continue into graduate research,” said Dr. Turpen, principal investigator on the grant and a professor of genetics, cell biology and anatomy at UNMC.
The students come from eight undergraduate institutions and two community colleges – the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Creighton University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Doane College, Chadron State College, Wayne State College, Western Nebraska Community College and Little Priest Tribal College.
“The Nebraska INBRE has created opportunities for students throughout the state to develop interests and skills in biomedical research and health professions,” said NCRR Director Barbara Alving, M.D. “The success of this network is evidenced by the fact that 75 percent of its graduates pursue careers in the fields of science.”
“The confidence the NIH has in the success of the INBRE program in
So far 148 undergraduate students have participated in the program. Of those 30 percent have gone to graduate school, 30 percent have entered professional school and 15 percent are in the scientific workforce in some capacity. This is the second time the grant has been renewed since the program was established in 2001. The first renewal was in 2004 for $16.9 million.
The students enter the program during their sophomore year and are given two-year scholarships worth $11,000. The scholarship provides students with $2,500 during each of their next two undergraduate years and $3,000 during each of their next two summers. During the school year, the students conduct research on their home campuses. During the summers, the students have the option of staying on their home campus or coming to UNMC, UNL or Creighton and conducting research.
Funding from the INBRE program also helps support several state-of-the-art core facilities, such as the DNA microarray facility at UNMC used by researchers and students around the state, and supports the research of 24 undergraduate faculty.
Sen. Ben Nelson has been a long-time advocate of IDeA and led the effort to increase funding for the program, which supports INBRE. His efforts led to an increase of $5 million to the IDeA program in FY ’09.
"Dr. Turpen is a national leader in the area of science workforce development, and his having merited the largest NIH grant in Nebraska history is a testament to the value of this outstanding senior scientist. It’s an honor for his department, his college and his university to claim Jim as a colleague," said Thomas Rosenquist, Ph.D., vice chancellor for research.
“The success of the INBRE program, and the guidance of Dr. Turpen and UNMC in bringing this program to
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in
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