Twenty-five students from 10 different undergraduate and community college programs have joined the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)/ Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) program.
Established in 2001, the BRIN program was created to expose students to serious biomedical research, build a statewide biomedical research infrastructure between undergraduate and graduate institutions and to strengthen undergraduate institution’s infrastructure and increase its capacity to conduct cutting-edge biomedical and behavioral research.
Today, you’ll meet Ashley Stillwell, one of the new BRIN scholars on campus.
Ashley Stillwell
University of Nebraska at Kearney junior
Psychobiology major
Q. What should we know about Ashley Stillwell?
A. I am from North Platte, Neb. I attend the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) and am majoring in psychobiology comprehensive. I am a pre-med student hoping to go into dermatology.
Q. Has science always been a part of your life? Explain.
A. I have always liked science, most importantly biology, as well as psychology. I think it is interesting to see and understand life and what makes it what it is. Science is all around us and something we will never be able to escape. Biomedical studies are the most fascinating to me, because they deal with the one thing we all want to understand more about: ourselves.
Q. Why did you choose to participate in the BRIN program?
A. The teachers at UNK talked to the classes and right away I knew it was something I wanted to do. I knew it would be a way to continue my studies during the summer, not from an educational standpoint, but from a research standpoint, diving into the basis of life, and challenging myself to a whole new level. It was an understanding many weren’t offered to gain and a chance to follow my dreams.
Q. What do you hope to gain from the program?
A. I really want to dive into the biomedical field by truly understanding the parts that make us whole. I knew I had a choice of many things to do this summer, and to many, sitting in front of a microscope all day would not be their idea of a great summer, but I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to expand my knowledge in the department to further push me in the direction I am hoping to go. It’s good for students to “get their feet wet.” It is important for people in the medical fields to realize the contributions others make to their program and their knowledge bank, and to know some about everything in your field, even the small steps to understanding that we make, will help make you a well rounded individual in your understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of your career specialty whatever it is. We all have dreams of what we want to become someday and this program not only gives us a chance to get our feet wet, but also continues our appreciation and love for what we want to become.