Hello, NE-INBRE faculty, students and friends,
I am currently at the national meeting for the IDeA program, of which NE-INBRE is one of the components. I had the opportunity to chat with our program official, and he immediately said to me that Nebraska is a crown jewel in his portfolio.
What an honor it was to hear that from a National Institutes of Health official. This is the result of the hard work of everyone reading this newsletter. If NE-INBRE is a crown jewel, we are its facets, and you are all shining brightly! I also want to thank this team for the effort put forth in the renewal grant that was submitted last month. The proposal was almost 700 pages, with a first-year budget of $3 million. The grant writing process was a year in the making, with many changes mandated by NIH. We will not receive a score until November, so I am hoping to share some good news in the next newsletter.
We have an exciting newsletter in store for you. Lisa Spellman, our longtime news specialist and communications star, has left – but did she really leave? The answer is “No!” She left her media position, but has become program manager for NE-HEALING. Lisa will help coordinate activities at the new undergraduate institute in the Nebraska network, Nebraska Indian Community College. Lisa, along with Hank Miller, will help recruit and train NE-INBRE Scholars. The newsletter is now in the hands of two talented communicators at UNMC, Karen Burbach and John Keenan. Please say hello to them at the annual conference this Aug. 4-6 at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City.
In this newsletter, we highlight our new External Advisory Board member, Dr. Jeff Brodsky, who is replacing Sam Enna, an original member of the committee formed in 2001. Additionally, you will read about the Jim Turpen Scholar, Grace Jaworski, our most accomplished scholar attending graduate school this year; learn about our very own Julie Soukup, who won the CURES Women in STEM award; and see a shoutout to Micah Moravec and Tami Houdesheldt, who were behind the scenes helping with the grant submission.
Here’s to a great summer ahead!
Paul Sorgen, PhD
Director, NE-INBRE