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This year brings an eclectic mix of students including one, who at 15 is the youngest to ever to enter the program, a psychology major who would like to be a dentist and an expectant mother.
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 their next two summers. During the school year, the students conduct research on their home campuses. During the summer, the students have the option of staying on their home campus or coming to UNMC, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln or Creighton University to conduct research.
The students’ last day in the lab is July 31. On Aug. 3-6 they will give oral and poster presentations of their work at the annual INBRE meeting in Grand Island.