HAWAII INBRE V PROGRAM

OVERALL SUMMARY The Hawaii Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (HI-INBRE) is a collaborative outreach partnership between the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM), the state’s Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) and University of Hawaii Community Colleges (CCs). The long-term goals are to strengthen and expand the biomedical research capacity within the state of Hawaii, to nurture research collaborations within Hawaii and throughout the greater INBRE network, to enhance professional development of faculty and students at Hawaii INBRE partner institutions, and to provide research resources to partner institutions. In our current cycle (INBRE IV), we established new funding mechanisms for promising investigators at different career stages at the PUIs and CCs. These INBRE investigators were provided funds and strong mentoring, thereby establishing research programs within conventional teaching institutions. Another accomplishment of INBRE IV was the enhancement of hands-on research experiences and career enhancement activities for students throughout the Hawaii INBRE network. For the next cycle (INBRE V), we will build on these successes and strengthen the statewide network through targeted efforts to invest in research capacity and the diverse human potential of Hawaii INBRE partners. Hawaii INBRE V will focus on promoting effective data and resource sharing within the statewide network and the INBRE Western region, to build stronger collaborations between Hawaii INBRE and other research programs such as the Hawaii Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBREs), and to enhance science and technological capacity of Hawaii’s workforce. With guidance from our Steering Committee and our seasoned External Advisors, we will accomplish the following specific aims: Specific Aim 1: To strengthen the biomedical research expertise and infrastructure of HI-INBRE participating institutions. Specific Aim 2: To provide support to postdoctoral fellows and faculty at participating institutions via our Developmental Research Project Program. Specific Aim 3: To provide student research experiences (SRE) at PUIs and CCs as a crucial first step in establishing a pipeline for these students to pursue biomedical research and workforce careers. Specific Aim 4: Expand and enhance a state-of-the-art Data Science Core to support Hawaii INBRE researchers and students