This proposal requests continued support for the highly successful MBRS Program at the University of Southern Colorado (USC). The goals of this program are to increase the number of minority students attaining advanced degrees in the biomedical sciences and to enhance research opportunities for faculty and students at USC, an institution that serves a large minority community and student population. The development of students into productive, mature, and ethical scientists is a primary objective. To achieve these goals, this proposal describes eight research projects spanning the areas of biology, chemistry, psychology, and human performance studies. The eight research projects include two in chemistry, two in biology, and one each in biochemistry and human performance studies. One of the biology projects investigates the role of the M1 metallo- aminopeptidase gene in yeast cell physiology. The second biology project examines the effect of uterine proteinase activity on embryo implantation. The biochemistry project seeks to characterize and determine the function of fungal acid phosphatases that exhibit a high degree of sequence homology to the mammalian tartrate-resistant acid phosphatases that are overly expressed in cell leukemia. One chemistry project explores synthetic routes to medicinal compounds via fluorination reactions. The second chemistry project's objective is to advance biomedical research through the design of selective and specific materials for chromatographic separations of pharmaceuticals. One of the psychology projects investigates the function of neuropeptides and their receptors in the control of voluntary alcohol preferences in an animal model of ethanol consumption. The second psychology project examines the relationship between salt appetite and neural physiological changes in the rat. The human performance studies project examines the psychological and social factors that contribute to maintenance of physical activities and health in a Hispanic church-based population. The diversity of the projects and the faculty researchers is expected to attract and actively engage students in productive research experiences as preparation for graduate biomedical programs.
