About INBRE

The vision of the Nebraska INBRE Project is to enhance the competitiveness of biomedical research in Nebraska.  This is being addressed by developing our research infrastructure and by providing research opportunities for students and faculty at Nebraska’s institutions of higher education.  A series of goals and objectives have been developed and a number of project activities have been designed and implemented to achieve these goals.

The Nebraska INBRE Network consists of seven undergraduate institutions (UGNET), three outreach institutions including two community colleges serving underrepresented minorities, and three Ph.D. granting institutions that serve the network as training and mentoring institutions.  The participating undergraduate campuses are: Creighton University College of Arts and Science, Doane College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Wayne State College.  The community colleges include Little Priest Tribal College and Western Nebraska Community College.  Additional outreach efforts to support promising students are in place at Chadron State College and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.  The Ph.D. granting institutions are the University of Nebraska Medical Center (lead institution), Creighton University Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 

Faculty and students on the UGNET campuses receive support to develop and perform undergraduate appropriate research projects.  This support includes faculty salaries, student stipends, equipment, supplies and travel.  The goal of the UGNET component of the project is to develop research capacity on the undergraduate campuses and to enhance research opportunities for undergraduate students at these baccalaureate institutions.  An integral component of the project is the BRIN Scholars Program.  The Scholars Program provides summer fellowships for advanced research training at one of the Ph.D. granting institutions, as well as research assistantships during the academic year.  Scholars are provided with numerous opportunities to present work at regional, national and international scientific meetings.  A major goal of the Scholars Program is to recruit students to graduate programs at Ph.D. granting institutions.  Once a Scholar had been admitted to Ph.D. program, the INBRE project will provide support for the first year of graduate studies.       

The three Ph.D. granting institutions serve as hosts for the Training and Mentoring Core, providing advanced training opportunities for both the BRIN Scholars and UGNET faculty.  This core organizes and oversees the Scholars Program and the Research Foundations Workshop.  In the workshop, Scholars receive didactic training in responsible conduct of research, animal care, radiation safety and the use of advance core laboratories in functional genomics, including bioinformatics.  Scholars obtain practical experience in research laboratories and participate in research projects under the supervision of established investigators who serve as faculty mentors.  BRIN Scholars present their research at several regional scientific meetings and are listed as co-authors on scientific publications that include work they accomplish in the laboratories.

The training institutions also serve as hosts for technologically advanced core laboratories in bioinformatics, structural and functional proteomics and functional genomics.  The Bioinformatics Core is based in the Nebraska Informatics Center for Life Science.  This center includes state of the art bioinformatics capabilities on four of the   campuses within the network, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University Medical Center.  As part of the Bioinformatics Core, INBRE provides additional support to the McGoogan Library of Medicine for the purchase of electronic subscriptions to major biomedical journals.  Functional and Structural Proteomics Cores are located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University Medical Center.  Functional Genomics Cores are housed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University Medical Center.  Support for these core laboratories includes salary support for technical personnel, major equipment purchases and operating supplies.  Core laboratories are available for the use of all participants in the network.  INBRE support for these core laboratories also helps to make their services available to all investigators throughout the state.

The Administrative Core is housed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  This core provides logistic support for all of the activities of the network.  In addition, budgetary oversight, outreach programs and network coordination are administrative responsibilities.

The scientific focuses of the NE-INBRE are based on the strengths and scientific expertise present on the research campuses and the alignment of research projects developed by the undergraduate faculty with these areas on the research campuses.  The scientific themes that bring the network together are Cell Signaling, Infectious Disease and Neuroscience. Collaborative arrangements between undergraduate faculty and research mentors are integral to the development of these focus areas and increasing the research base and capacity for Nebraska.  Outreach activities to the Community Colleges are based on increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in the research enterprise and supporting disease specific initiatives related to these unique populations.  Finally, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development is closely involved with the INBRE project, particularly with respect to the emerging biotechnology industry in the State.

In summary, the major goals of the NE-INBRE project are aligned with the objectives of the NIH IDeA Program.  These goals include:

• “Establish a multidisciplinary research network with a scientific focus that will build and strengthen the lead and partner institutions’ research expertise and infrastructure”
• “Build and increase the research base and capacity by providing research support to faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students at the participating institutions”
• “Provide research opportunities for undergraduate students and serve as a pipeline for undergraduate students to continue in health research careers”
• “Promote research collaborations between undergraduate campuses and research institutions”
• “Provide outreach activities to students at undergraduate institutions, community colleges and tribal colleges”
• “Enhance science and technology knowledge of the states workforce.”