A conference near Grand Island earlier this month showcased the biomedical research work performed this summer by college students from across the state.
The students – from 10 different undergraduate and community college programs – are participants in a program that serves as a means to introduce students to serious biomedical research and to provide a platform for them if they wish to pursue a career in research, said James Turpen, Ph.D., professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the director of the program. The conference took place Aug. 10-11 at the Interstate Holiday Inn near Grand Island.
“This is a statewide effort, with the University of Nebraska Medical Center as the lead institution, that will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students and serve as a pipeline for those students to continue in graduate research,” Dr. Turpen said.
Dr. Turpen serves as the principal investigator of a five-year, $17 million grant that funds the program. The federal grant is funded through the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). Awarded earlier this year, the grant was the second one from the National Institutes of Health to fund this program, which began in Nebraska in 2001.
Students enter the INBRE program after the complete their sophomore year of college. Recommended by their college professors, they come from 10 different institutions – 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, Little Priest Tribal College and Western Nebraska Community College.
Once in the INBRE program, the students 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 with faculty members 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 to conduct research with world-class scientists.
A major goal of the INBRE program, Dr. Turpen said, is to enhance the science and technology knowledge of the state’s workforce, which will hopefully attract more biotech industry to the state. It also will provide support for core facilities in bioinformatics, proteomics and DNA microarray technology for biomedical research.
At the conference in Grand Island, INBRE students who completed their first year of research projects gave oral presentations on their work. Students who completed their second year presented their findings on posters.
The first-year students, listed in alphabetical order by hometown, include:
Beatrice: Rebecca Meyer, Creighton
Blair: Corey Lawson, UNO
Chadron: Mary Connealy, UNK
Elm Creek: Sarah Marshall, UNK
Geneva: Angela Fenton, Nebraska Wesleyan
Grand Island: Megan Campbell, Nebraska Wesleyan
Holdrege: Aspen Bricker, Doane College
Kearney: Branden Nemecek, UNL
Laurel: Michael Jacobsen, Wayne State College
Lincoln: Joseph Chiweshe, UNL
Minden: Amie Sughroue, UNL
Mitchell: Scott Griffith, Western Nebraska Community College (starts at UNK in fall)
Nebraska City: Scott Madden, Doane College
Omaha: Scott Abboud, UNO, Katie Berray, UNL, Kate Dempsey, UNO,
Mona Sorouri, UNO
O’Neill: Kyle Johnson, Concordia
Petersburg: Anita Stokes, Doane College
Potter: Avery Shaw, Chadron State College
Royal: Marcus Finch, UNO
Scottsbluff: Bill Zitterkopf, Western Nebraska Community College (starts at UNL in the fall)
Spencer: Eric Miller, Wayne State College
Walthill: Rosette Stabler, Little Priest Tribal College
Parkville, Mo.: Kevin Klawuhn, Creighton
Washington, Iowa: Rachel Patterson, Creighton
Those students completing their second year, listed alphabetically by their undergraduate institution, include:
Creighton University: Mary Adams, Justyna Dobrowolska and Carolyn Green
Chadron State College: Suzie Morse
Doane College: Will Packard, Jessica Hutter
Nebraska Wesleyan University: Erin Hughes, Christina Schroder and Ashlee Muller
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Gentry Rundle, Tara Boren
University of Nebraska at Kearney: Cory Ciccone, Michael Kling (transfer from WNCC), Anjeza Pashaj and Lindsay Vivian
University of Nebraska at Omaha: Ben Hanzel, Megan Nelson, Nick Palermo and Sarfraz Chandio
Wayne State College: Deann Settles