overall goal of this INBRE renewal application is to continue the facilitation of quality biomedical research activities throughout the State of Louisiana with an emphasis on building research capacity and workforce development. The Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) has established a strong foundation for interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research, education, training, and mentoring programs focused on seven primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). These PUIs have been chosen as partners based on their interest and their missions' fit with one or more of the three thematic areas of the LBRN: Computational Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, and Therapeutic and Preventive Medicine. Undergraduate students from seventeen other PUIs have the opportunity to participate in the research outreach program. Faculty and students at PUIs will be mentored and supported by scientists in the flagship, LSU, and five biomedical- research-intensive institutions. A leading-edge cyberinfrastructure connects all of these units. Overlaying all of our activities will be regular metric-driven assessment of all programs, including cores, using internal and external reviewers. Major changes have been made to improve the currently successful LBRN program. These include: improvement and expansion of our cyberinfrastructure; increased interaction with existing state COBREs; and the expansion of the number of PUIs from five to seven, adding one additional historically black college. We will also partner with Louisiana's new IDeA CTR (LA CaTS) to provide more translational science research experiences for PUI faculty and students. Undergraduate research experiences will be expanded to include opportunities during the academic year. As a demonstration of their recognition of the LBRNs importance to the state, the Louisiana Board of Regents has agreed to continue to provide a match of $1.14 million for the new application. Other support from universities brings this total match to more than $2.93 million. With these improvements and this match it is clear that the LBRN will meet its goals and those of the national INBRE program.
The Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) is a project funded by the National Institutes of Health. LBRN provides expert educational, training, and research opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty at Louisiana's primarily undergraduate institutions of higher education. The result of this expanded infrastructure, educational support, and linkages with the state's research-intensive universities and institutes is new research findings that impact public health and increase Louisiana's biotechnical and biomedical workforce capacity.
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