The primary objective of the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University is to provide introductory biomedical research experiences to the undergraduate American Indian students served by this institution. An expected outcome of the research experiences is that more ethnic minority students will be encouraged to major in chemistry and/or biology, and subsequently pursue advanced degrees in the biomedical sciences or related health fields. A second objective of the program is to strengthen the institutional research capabilities of Southeastern in the areas at bioinorganic chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, and physical biochemistry. The research subprojects proposed in this application will serve as the focal point for the undergraduate research experiences of the American Indian student research participants. Early undergraduate research activities are expected to enrichen the academic experiences of the participants through research related problem solving, the preparation of presentations, and attendance at scientific meetings. In addition, important biological and chemical concepts will be reinforced and be given deeper meaning through the research projects described below. Project One: """"""""Amino Acid Analysis using Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Chromatography,"""""""" in developing cutting edge microanalytical methods for trace quantities of biological materials. Project Two: """"""""Inorganic Antibody Labels for Biomedical Applications,"""""""" will involve ethnic minority students in the synthesis of metal cluster compounds, bismuth binding proteins, and boron polymers, as well as the development of new methods for crosslinking these entities to proteins and antibodies. New methodology and specific antibody labels for treating tumors will be forthcoming from this project.
