INBRE scholars on campus – meet Ian Engebretsen

Twenty-six 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.

Ian Engebretsen

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 each undergraduate institution’s infrastructure and increase its capacity to conduct cutting-edge biomedical and behavioral research.

Today we meet Ian Engebretsen, a sophomore at Wayne State College.

Tell us about yourself. Who are your heroes?

I am 20 years old. I graduated from Laurel-Concord High School in Laurel, Neb. I am majoring in biology with a minor chemistry and exercise science. My heroes are my father and grandfather.

What are your career goals?

My career goals are either to do research or medicine or both.

How did you become interested in science?

My family has a science background and my science teacher in high school was very good.

What do you hope the INBRE program will do for you?

To learn laboratory techniques and critical thinking from a very good mentor and crew.

How do you see science evolving over the next 20 years.

I believe science in 20 years will continue to be more efficient and will dive into many more areas of science with increasing depth. This will happen only if education increases.