Thirty undergraduate students from nine colleges and universities in Nebraska have joined the INBRE program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
These bright young men and women make up the new class of science novices who will spend two years learning the language, techniques and culture of laboratory research.
For 10 weeks this summer, the students conducted research alongside scientists at UNMC, Creighton University Medical Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where they embarked on their own careers in biomedical science.
“It’s been a great experience to spend the summer just concentrating on research,” said Jerome Prusa, a junior majoring in math and biotechnology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“I never dreamed I would be doing nanomedicine research, but I’m glad for the opportunity,” Prusa said.
At the end of their summer research experience, the students presented at the annual INBRE conference in Grand Island in early August, where they mingled with scientists from all three campuses and shared ideas.
Upon returning to school this fall the students will continue to conduct research on their home campuses.
The Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program is overseen by James Turpen, Ph.D., professor of genetics, cell biology and anatomy at UNMC. Dr. Turpen is the principal investigator of the $17.2 million National Institutes of Health grant that funds the program.
Established in 2001, the INBRE Scholars program was created to expose students to serious biomedical research and build a statewide biomedical research infrastructure between undergraduate and graduate institutions.
The students, referred to as INBRE scholars, enter the program after completing their sophomore year of college upon recommendation by their college professors.
Each undergraduate school nominates approximately three students a year for the program. Once in the program, the students are given two-year scholarships worth $11,000. The scholarship provides students with $2,500 during each of their next two undergraduate years and $3,000 during each of the two summers they are in the program.
The following is a list of INBRE Scholars listed by hometown in alphabetical order.
Grand Island – Benjamin White
Kearney — Andrew Cannon, Jaicee Post
LaVista – Steve Ready
Lincoln — Mandalyn Kautz, Maire Rose Donnelly, Matt Shuman, Rachel Coburn, Lucas Berke
Lodgepole – Autumn Longo
Omaha – Jerome Prusa, Laura Allen, Megan Dunovan, Janelle Butler, Kelvin Chin, Sasankh bc, Brent Bruck, Zachariah Holmes, Marissa Meyers, Jing Chen, Kristina Ward, Ana Laura Ortiz-Morales, Melina Baeza Villa
Palisade – Michele Stretch
Shelton – Travis Claybrooks
South Sioux City – Brandon Lamere
Ulysses – Michaela Hruska
Wallace – Curtis Perriotte-Olson
Wayne – Trent Ahlers, Nathan Broeker