The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program within the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) promotes the development, coordination and sharing of research resources that increase the competitiveness of investigators in 23 IDeA-eligible states and Puerto Rico. The IDeA Program includes the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), and the IDeA Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR). Each is designed to enhance research infrastructure and faculty development in IDeA-eligible states. Each program has common needs and faces similar challenges, and the current proposal will enhance the success of these programs by providing a unique forum for the exchange of ideas and solutions to common problems. In partnership with the IDeA community, NIGMS IDeA officials and HelmsBriscoe, this renewal application requests support for multi-year conferences in response to NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings. The goal is to organize and convene the National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE). These NISBRE conferences provide unique technical workshops, working groups, and forums to promote best practices across IDeA states that enhance mentoring and career development.
The first aim will plan and organize a biennial scientific symposium to showcase research and enhance communications among IDeA programs.
A second aim will be to provide educational workshops to expand technological repertoire and career skills that improve competitiveness.
A third aim will provide training of scientific skills and career development for student/trainees.
A final aim will provide opportunities for concurrent parallel programs/organizations that enhance communication and sharing of best practices among IDeA programs. The proposed NISBRE will continue to incorporate innovative planning to meet the immerging interests and needs of IDeA investigators and to maximize interactions between senior scientists, junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows. A core business workshop led by the DRIVEN Administrative Committee (Celdara Medical: Dr. Jake Reder and Dr. Julie Coleman; Simbex: Dr. Rick Greenwald and Jonathan Beckwith) will be implemented with the goal of providing basic business knowledge to assist Research Core Participants in maintaining their footprint. We expect that at the conclusion of this five-year award we will have enhanced the cohesion within the IDeA community of scientists and positively impact the future funding opportunities for investigators at institutions within the IDeA Program.
DRIVEN's development of the described components of Core Business will be a valuable pilot project with the potential for immediate, ongoing, and extended impact. This is an outstanding example of an opportunity to fill a gap and improve the efficiency of an entire system. While not all Core Directors can participate in the pilot, even conservative assumptions lead to very high leverage and ultimately, a large and positive impact on human health.
