UW Northern Rockies Regional INBRE

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The University of Wyoming (UW) is a land-grant institution and the only baccalaureate, post-secondary degree granting institution in the State of Wyoming. This application is a continuation of an NIH BRIN Award (P20 RR 16474-03). The goal of the INBRE proposed in this application by the University of Wyoming (for the state of Wyoming) is to continue to build on accomplishments achieved as a result of the NIH BRIN Phase I program that was initiated in September 2001. A comprehensive plan has been developed to increase the competitiveness of investigators at the University of Wyoming in obtaining funding from the NIH. In addition, and as a part of the overall plan, an intensive effort will be made to provide additional opportunities for undergraduates at the University of Wyoming and at four of the state's seven community colleges. In addition to the three mandatory cores, three "thematic research areas" have been identified. Two fall into the general category of basic research and one as clinical research. The basic research thematic areas are "Integrative Physiology" and "Fertility and Women's Health." The clinical thematic research area identified is "Health Outcomes in Rural Populations." A novel part of the overall UW INBRE plan that will also create unique research (and mentoring) opportunities is the Visiting Senior Scientist Program. The concept and goal of this program is to recruit well-established, internationally recognized senior scientists to come to the UW and spend 3 to 12 months conducting collaborative research with biomedical scientists in one or more of the thematic research areas identified. This approach - providing role models and building links to other institutions - should be valuable in moving the thematic research areas forward by increasing the quality and visibility of the research performed. In summary, long-term goal is that in five years UW will have made sufficient progress in building its research infrastructure and capabilities that it will be competitive in procuring funds from programs sponsored by the NIH. Moreover, by creating opportunities for undergraduates to participate in biomedical research early in their careers, it is anticipated that a pool of students representing the next generation of health professionals, biomedical scientists and employees for the biotechnology industries will be created.