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INBRE at Idaho State University

Our overall goal is to provide a platform and resources for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to engage in publishable biomedical research and to enhance the competitiveness of ISU faculty applying for NIH funding in biomedical research. Another goal is to increase the awareness and appreciation of such research both within the ISU community and for the public.

Funding to ISU for its INBRE program comes in form of annual, $100-150K institutional sub-award that supports student summer research (stipend and supplies), program leader and graduate assistant summer salaries, the ISU INBRE seminar series, travel to the annual INBRE summer conference, and one graduate student research assistantship, typically awarded to a student in a doctoral program in Biological Sciences, Psychology, or Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences. Other funds to support student research, faculty assisting with the summer program, and to maintain and expand core facilities are provided by the ISU Office of Research.

ISU INBRE Goals

  1. Extend the participation in the summer program for the four major departments traditionally associated with ISU INBRE. To meet this goal we have increased the distribution of summer fellows working with mentors in Biology, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science, and Psychology. We have also reached out to the Division of Health Sciences with involvement of a faculty mentor and graduate summer assistant working with us in the summer program.
  2. Increase awareness of ISU INBRE with specific goal to discuss the summer program and the application process for summer fellows with each of the four major ISU departments mentioned in (1). To meet this goal we have organized meetings of INBRE faculty by zoom to discuss the summer program and involvement of mentors and graduate students in each of these Departments.
  3. Work with new faculty to increase their participation in INBRE as mentors and to provide a platform for discussion of grant applications. This goal has resulted in successful INBRE grant awards to two ISU junior faculty now engaged in that research as part of a Developmental Research Project award to Dr. Jared Barrott in the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, and a Pilot Award to Dr. Julia Martin in the Department of Biological Sciences, in 2021.
  4. Work with administration to provide infrastructural support for INBRE-related biomedical research for summer program and for individual PI research efforts. We have discussed need for additional support for summer fellows and to support CORE facilities with ongoing and positive interactions with the administration.
  5. Develop a universal application for INBRE graduate fellowship for which ISU students can apply and provide effective advertisement, and targeting departments listed in (1). To meet this goal, we have implemented in 2021 an application process that resembles an NIH graduate fellowship: biosketch, research proposal, career development plan, background, mentor letter support, and personal statement about teaching and mentoring. Development of an equitable evaluation plan is in progress, with evaluation in 2021 consisting of ranking of applications from faculty from each of the four major ISU Departments involved in INBRE research.