The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) proposes here the creation of the Puerto Rico Alliance for the Advancement of Biomedical Research Excellence (PRAABRE). This proposal is in response to and compliant with RFA number RR-03-010 that invited applications for IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence. This is a competitive renewal application for our previous grant number P20 RR-16470 that created the BRIN-PR network. The main goals of the Puerto Rico Alliance for Biomedical Research Excellence (PRAABRE) proposal are: 1) to enhance and strengthen the scientific infrastructure and research competitiveness of the Commonwealth in three specific research areas deemed to be key to advance Puerto Rico's biomedical and behavioral research capacity; 2) to elevate the productivity, competitiveness, and number of human resources needed to attract established investigators in those research areas; and 3) to promote the development of research skills of talented junior investigators and gifted students. The scientific areas to be enhanced and strengthen were selected by the PRAABRE Steering Committee after consensus of all participating institutions, and these are Neuroscience, Drug Design and Delivery, and Molecular Medicine. These goals will be achieved by creating and establishing (a) an Administrative Core, (b) a Bioinformatics Core, (c) a Research Core, and (d) an Outreach Core on three thematic scientific areas. The Administrative Core will provide administrative and logistical support to the research networks. The Bioinformatics Core, housed at the High Performance Computing facility (HPCf) of UPR, will provide access to technical expertise and data analysis tools for the researchers within the three thematic research clusters. The Research Core of PRAABRE will support three initiatives: the DNA Sequencing and Multilocus Genotyping Facility, the UPR-Proteomics Facility, and the Access to Biomedical Electronic Scientific lnformatics (ABESI) project. The Outreach Core will create programs for support of junior researchers and students (graduate and undergraduate) as well as other Professional Development opportunities to investigators within the Researcher Clusters (Neuroscience, Molecular Medicine and Drug Design and Development), and an immersive research experience program for high school teachers and students. Finally, PRAABRE will host 11 research subprojects in five primarily undergraduate institutions in Puerto Rico.
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