The PI is a cell physiologist USDSM, with one Ph.D. graduate student every four years, no technical support, 50% teaching responsibility, and no one else to share research equipment and ideas with on a regular basis. Thus, it is very difficult to remain at the cutting edge of research, without strong institutional support of research expenses for those times in between grants, and some luck in finding fruitful collaborations. In 1998 USDSM combined its four very independent basic science departments into a single Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences. A major reason was to stimulate the development of interdisciplinary research collaborations. The organization of this division has had its intended effect, witness the awarding of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center of Biomedical Research Excellence Award in Neuroscience (CBREAN) in 2000. This application, to create a BRIN in the area of cellular growth control, continues the USDSM?s efforts to develop nationally competitive research programs in focused areas. The SD-BRIN includes the USDSM, Augustana College (AUGC), Black Hills State University (BHSU) and Sisseton/Wahpeton Community College (SWCC), a small tribal college. Each institution has a unique mission and student population. The goals of the SD-BRIN are to develop the research capacity of South Dakota in the area of control of cell growth, and to develop human resources for undergraduate and graduate programs in the biomedical sciences in South Dakota. These goals will be met by: 1) improving the bioinformatics/electronic communication capabilities of the network institutions through library resource enhancement, enhanced broadband communication, development of a SD-BRIN web site and production of BRIN sponsored learning modules for network on-site education; and 2) recruitment and career development of a critical mass of junior faculty, graduate and undergraduate student researchers, and creation of proteomics and functional genomics facilities to support research in the area of cellular growth control. The long-term SD-BRIN goal is the development of a statewide network of nationally competitive, independent investigators working together to study cellular growth control.
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