Twenty-five students from 10 different undergraduate and community college programs are exploring biomedical research this summer. The students are part of 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 Sara Ourada, one of the new BRIN scholars on campus.
Sara Ourada
University of Nebraska at Omaha junior
Bioinformatics major
Q. Tell me about yourself. Who your heroes are?
A. I grew up in Omaha and am a junior in the bioinformatics program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I am also a student diplomat at UNO and help to recruit high school seniors. I admire my parents the most. They have always been very supportive of me. They also have helped me get through some very tough times in my life.
Q. What are your career goals?
A. I would like to have a career in science someday. I really enjoy genetics and dealing with genes and gene expression. I would possibly like to go into research in something dealing with genetics or looking at defects in humans.
Q. How did you become interested in science?
A. I became interested in science during high school. My father works with computers and software, and he got me initially interested.
Q. What do you hope the BRIN program will do for you?
A. I hope the BRIN program will give me unique experiences dealing with the biomedical sciences. I am really looking forward to working on a research project and then presenting the project at the end. I am also looking forward to the weekly seminars.
Q. How do you see science evolving over the next 20 years?
A. I see a very quick evolution of science over the next 20 years. With all of the current research happening, I believe there will be advancements in treatments for some of the most deadly diseases and sicknesses. Technology will have a great impact on these advancements. With more programs like bioinformatics starting up in universities around the United States, hopefully many new undergraduate students will have training in science as well as in technology.