West Virginia has a history of a low success rate in obtaining grant funds from the National Institutes of Health and has been designated as an IDeA state. In this renewal application, Marshall University (MU), in partnership with West Virginia University (WVU), will continue to build on the success of the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (WV- INBRE) to help develop biomedical research infrastructure and capacity throughout the network and provide biomedical research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students from the research network institutions. MU, in partnership with WVU, will continue to serve as lead institutions to a research network consisting of seven primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). The multi-disciplinary theme for WV-INBRE will be cellular and molecular biology with an emphasis on chronic disease (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity-related illness and addiction). Supporting the activities of the network will be the Administrative, Data Science and Sequencing, Molecular and Related Technologies (SMART) Cores which have been established to facilitate research progress, mentoring and training, and career development of investigators and students at the lead and research network institutions. Research in the network will be supported by Research Projects (major PUI research awards) and Pilot Projects (Faculty Research Development Awards (FRDAs), Center for Natural Products Research Pilot Awards, and Chronic Disease Research Program Pilot Awards) through the Developmental Research Projects Program. Ties to WV COBREs, the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA; an NIH-funded SEPA program) and the WV IDeA-CTR (WVCTSI) will be expanded. Proposed Student Research Program activities will provide research opportunities for PUI students, including the summer research program, HSTA Scholar initiative, and the Developmental Research Project Program, to help prepare these students for health-related research careers. HSTA high school science teachers and network institution faculty fellows will also be provided summer research opportunities at the lead and network institutions. A new initiative with the Puerto Rico INBRE in natural products research will provide summer student exchanges, co- hosted regional virtual symposia, and research collaborations. Through providing workshops, seminars, research training and mentoring, and access to state-of-the-art core facilities, WVINBRE will help enhance the science and technology knowledge and skill base of the WV workforce.

WV-INBRE supported research projects will investigate several major human health issues that are particularly prevalent in West Virginia including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity-related illness and addiction. An important aspect of WV-INBRE is directed toward enhancing the pipeline of undergraduate and graduate students choosing a career in the biomedical science research field.