Oklahoma Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of the Oklahoma BRIN is to increase the capacity for conducting biomedical research in Oklahoma. In the long-term, this will be accomplished by increasing the number of National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded investigators and the success rate for NIH applications from Oklahoma institutions. The Oklahoma BRIN will comprise five graduate and three undergraduate institutions. The BRIN will focus on developing infrastructure in targeted areas where existing strengths provide a solid foundation for retaining existing investigators and recruiting a cadre of new biomedical scientists. A major initiative will be to create an Oklahoma MN to expand the state's capabilities in the area of functional genomics. The MN will link hitherto independent facilities at the BRIN institutions and also build a new facility in Tulsa. The new Tulsa facility is an important step in expanding the currently very modest biomedical research activity in Oklahoma's second largest city. Oklahoma's BRIN will also create a Bioinformatics Network (BN) focused primarily on supporting the State's functional genomics programs. The BN will consist of a centralized "hub" with a cluster of bioinformatics specialists linked to "spokes," with personnel located at each participating graduate institution. The BRIN will also support a major new initiative in neuroscience by providing support for the purchase of an fMRI. The fMRI will be the centerpiece of Oklahoma's Neuroimaging Facility and its operations will facilitate Oklahoma's participation in activities sponsored by the new NIH Institute dedicated to bioengineering and biomedical imaging. The BRIN will also foster important new linkages between the participating graduate and undergraduate institutions. The Oklahoma BRIN will include Langston University (LU), the State's only historically Black institution of higher education, and Northeastern State University (NSU), which enrolls the highest number of Native American students of any college in the nation. The Oklahoma BRIN focus on undergraduate institutions serving under-represented groups will enhance the national effort to provide educational opportunities to all Oklahoma citizens.