This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. As Western Kentucky University's Lead Faculty Representative, my role in the INBRE program is primarily administrative. During this budget year I have overseen institutional activities related to the program, I have represented WKU on the KBRIN steering committee and the KBRIN AREA subcommittee, I have promoted and facilitated interactions and exchange of ideas between faculty, postdocs, technicians, and students in our biomedical research community, and I have served as a liaison between the Administrative Core of the INBRE program and the faculty investigators and administrators at WKU. Between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010, the INBRE program provided support for one junior faculty investigator (Michael Smith) and three tenured faculty investigators (Sigrid Jacobshagen, Rodney King, and Nancy Rice). All four investigators directed successful and productive research programs involving numerous undergraduate and masters level graduate students as well as 3 full time technicians and 1 post doc. Three of our INBRE investigators are also currently funded by NIH-AREA grants. Three additional junior faculty members from WKU, Di Wu from the Department of Mathematics, Rajalingam Dakshinamurthy from the Department of Chemistry, and Nilesh Sharma from the Department of Biology, participated in the INBRE program during this budget year through our KBRIN AREA initiative. In addition, the Director of our Bioinformatics and Information Science Center, Claire Rinehart, received funding from the INBRE program to allow the BISC to take on increasing responsibility for arranging and facilitating the annual Kentucky/Tennessee Bioinformatics Summit. A record number of six faculty members from Ogden College of Science and Technology at WKU submitted NIH AREA proposals during the current budget year. We are also pleased to report that two INBRE funded students from WKU received national level scholarships/awards during this budget year. Patrick Stewart, and undergraduate research student in Michael Smith's lab was the recipient of a Morris K. Udall Scholarship, and Joseph Chavarria-Smith from Nancy Rice's lab received an NSF Graduate Fellowship to pursue doctoral studies at the University of California-Berkeley.
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