Making research resources available to NE-INBRE researchers is just one of the ways the Great Plains IDeA-Clinical Translational Research (CTR) is collaborating with the biomedical pipeline program.
Supporting workshops, funding equipment and providing support for undergraduate students to participate in the INBRE program are among the others, said Matthew Rizzo, M.D., professor and chair of the department of neurological sciences at UNMC and principal investigator of the IDeA-CTR grant.
"We want to help out however we can," Dr. Rizzo said.
"Our job is to grow clinical and translational biomedical research in the state. By investing in people and creating networks that connect undergraduates to graduate students and those students to faculty mentors we create a culture where everybody is working together," he said.
Consortium licenses have been established across IDeA programs and have improved access to various research software programs for researchers, including undergraduate students within the NE-INBRE program, Dr. Rizzo said.
Not only do these collaborations help meet funding requirements for IDeA programs but, more importantly, they create enthusiasm among the scholars.
The Great Plains IDeA-CTR aims to reach research scholars who, through direct funding, are able to take translational research discoveries to the next level; clinical scholars who are able to dip back into the world of research and apply learnings to their clinical settings; and student scholars who are exposed to the world of clinical translational research for the first time and are inspired to pursue a career in either field.
"Combined these efforts strategically place IDeA states on the frontiers of research and expand the teaching, research and outreach in ways that cut across traditional boundaries of academic discipline and enhance discovery, learning and engagement," Dr. Rizzo said.
For more information on how to access the software mentioned above, contact Amanda Fletcher via email at: Amanda.fletcher@unmc.edu.