Rhode Island EPSCoR: Catalyzing a Research, Education and Innovation Network

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Rhode Island seeks to attain national prominence by building a competitive research platform that is both statewide and sustainable and whose programs will empower and stimulate researchers to take advantage of advanced technologies through the establishment of a center for research excellence in marine life sciences and establishment of core research facilities in genomics and proteomics. The University of Rhode Island (URI) and eight other institutions in the state propose strategic investment in life sciences to support the state's biotechnology and biomanufacturing economy. Federal, state and local, public, private, and non-profit institutions will support the infrastructure-building program in Rhode Island. The integrative activities in research, education, innovation and communication will serve to:develop the human capital necessary to support and sustain the growth of competitive research capacity in the life sciences; broaden the participation of women and underrepresented ethnic and racial minorities in the STEM workforce; provide researchers with targeted entrepreneurial guidance to encourage research innovation, stimulate technology transfer, and promote commercialization and new business development; and,develop sustainable communication mechanisms to build and enhance a strong statewide network of the state's and region's scientists, institutions of higher education, and private and public sectors. The Rhode Island Center for Genomics, the Rhode Island Center for Proteomics, the Rhode Island Center for Marine Life Sciences and the Rhode Island EPSCoR Academy will be enabled through this partnership. Funding supports undergraduate and graduate students (including entrepreneurial fellows), instrumentation, K-12 STEM teacher preparation, and Biosciences/Biotechnology curriculum at community colleges. Expert evaluation of the outputs and impacts of this project as well as dissemination and communication of results is also supported.Funding is provided through the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).***