OVERALL Project Summary The overall goal of this INBRE renewal application is the facilitation of quality biomedical research activities throughout the State of Louisiana with an emphasis on building research capacity and workforce development. Starting with 2016, overall operations have been re-organized to maximize effectiveness and impact. Briefly, these include: 1) Direct engagement of the Steering Committee members by having bi-annual retreats and written reports provided by each Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI). 2) The appointment of Core Liaison Officers (CLO) in each PUI to directly evaluate individual projects and faculty needs and referral to the LBRN Cores, Bioinformatics Biostatistics and Computational Biology Core (BBCC) and Molecular Cell Biology Resources Core (MCBRC). 3) The creation of a “Core Bucks” funding mechanism to support access to cores for all PUI faculty. In this application, additional major changes are proposed to further improve the currently successful LBRN program: 1) Expansion of the number of PUIs from seven to eight by adding the University of New Orleans (UNO) campus. 2) We will expand undergraduate research experiences to include entire academic year, as well as summer experiences in both academic and industrial settings. Importantly, the Louisiana Board of Regents (LABoR) has recognized the major impact of LBRN in state-wide biomedical research and training and will provide match funding of approx. $1.2 million over five years for the LBRN summer research program. Significant support is also provided by LSU including the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) and the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT). 3) For the first time, we have initiated a campaign to solicit additional financial support for the LBRN program from not-for-profit-institutions, as well as from for-profit institutions. We expect that this effort will provide additional summer stipends for undergraduate students, as well as new hosting institutions and contribute to the expansion of biomedical workforce in Louisiana. The major objectives of this application will be accomplished through the following specific aims: Specific Aim I: Maintain and expand the previously established state-wide infrastructure and intellectual research network supporting interdisciplinary biomedical research. Specific Aim II: Expand and improve the critical mass of biomedical investigators at PUI campuses through the support of mentored research and enhanced communication. Specific Aim III: Increase undergraduate student interest in biomedical research careers throughout Louisiana by providing summer and academic year research opportunities to all PUI institutions within the state. Specific Aim IV: Evaluate, assess, and continuously monitor the progress within LBRN through detailed tracking of research accomplishments, the development of human resources, and productive collaborations among participating institutions.

OVERALL Project Narrative The overall goal of this INBRE renewal application is the facilitation of quality biomedical research activities throughout the State of Louisiana with an emphasis on building research capacity and workforce development. Starting with 2016, overall operations have been re-organized to maximize effectiveness and impact by increased involvement of the PUI Steering Committee members via bi annual retreats written reports, appointment of Core Liaison Officers (CLO) representing each Core, and creation of a “Core Bucks” funding mechanism to support access to Cores for all PUI faculty. In this application, additional major changes are proposed to further improve the currently successful LBRN program, such as: expansion of the number of PUIs from seven to eight by adding the University of New Orleans (UNO) campus; expansion of undergraduate research experiences to include entire academic year, as well as summer experiences in both academic and industrial settings by soliciting additional financial support for the LBRN program from not-for-profit-institutions, as well as from for-profit institutions.