College students from across the state are showcasing their biomedical research work this week at a UNMC-led conference in Grand Island.
The students — from nine different undergraduate and community colleges — are participants in a program that serves as an introduction to serious biomedical research and provides a platform for pursuing a career in research, said James Turpen, Ph.D., professor at UNMC and the director of the program.
“The vision of the Nebraska’s Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) project is to enhance the competitiveness of biomedical research in the state by providing research opportunities for students and faculty at Nebraska’s institutions of higher education,” Dr. Turpen said. “This is a statewide effort, with the University of Nebraska Medical Center as the lead institution, that will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students and serve as a pipeline for those students to continue in graduate research.”
The program, which began in 2001, is funded by a $17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and has had 145 participants to date.
For the first time this year, students who place first, second and third in the oral and poster presentations will receive cash awards totaling $1,700 provided by Nebraskans for Research. The “Future Scientists Awards” will be handed out during a banquet dinner tonight.
Students enter the INBRE program after they complete their sophomore year of college.
Recommended by their college professors, they come from nine different institutions:
- Creighton University College of Arts and Science;
- Doane College;
- Nebraska Wesleyan University;
- University of Nebraska at Kearney;
- University of Nebraska at Omaha;
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln;
- Wayne State College;
- Chadron State College; and
- Western Nebraska Community College.
Once in the INBRE program, the students are given two-year scholarships worth $13,300. The scholarship provides students with $2,500 during each of their next two undergraduate years and $3,000 during each of their next two summers, as well as summer housing allowances.
During the school year, the students conduct research with faculty members on their home campuses. During the summers, the students have the option of staying on their home campus or coming to UNMC, UNL or Creighton to conduct research with world-class scientists.
A major goal of the INBRE program, Dr. Turpen said, is to enhance the science and technology knowledge of the state’s workforce, which program officials hope will attract more biotech industry to the state.
At the conference in Grand Island, INBRE students who completed their first year of research projects will give oral presentations on their work. Students who completed their second year present their findings on posters.
The first-year students, listed in alphabetical order by hometown, include:
Nebraska students
- Alliance: Christopher Cummings
- Beatrice: Megan Larsen
- Comstock: Austin Nuxoll
- Elk Creek: Kaylee Troxel
- Fremont: Janae Rise, Brittany Cody
- Grand Island: Laura Heuermann
- Holdrege: Jacob Johnson
- Humphrey: Natalie German
- Johnson: Rachel Steadman
- Mullen: Helen Kraye
- Omaha: Kaitlin Barr, Jeffrey Belmont, Stephanie Brady, Adam Cornish, Katie Langenfeld, Lan Uyen Tran, Kelly Westfall
- Papillion: Alisha Anderson
- Scottsbluff: Ladessa Heimbouch
Non-Nebraska students
- Eugene, Ore.: Christa Flitcroft
- Jackson, Wyo.: Christine Gilling
- Littleton, Colo.: Timothy Smith
- Sioux City, Iowa: Katie Peterson
- Sturgis, S.D.: Richard Nelson