Project Summary During the past four years, we have witnessed global challenges of historic proportion. In Montana, COVID-19 and extreme weather events (including fire and flooding) have irreversibly changed communities and exposed the fragile status of health and well-being for people already experiencing health disparities. The MT INBRE network is culturally and economically diverse. Our experience shows that bringing together engaged community members, researchers from local institutions, and experienced biomedical researchers can facilitate research that improves health and well-being. The MT INBRE program is particularly important for Montana because the state does not have a medical school. This program serves as a major driver of health improvement through research-based interventions. We believe that Montana communities should drive research questions and contribute to finding solutions to mitigate the health disparities they experience. Therefore, MT INBRE V will use its well-established network to further strengthen collaborations among rural and Native communities with tribal colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and research universities. We believe tribal colleges should be conduits for research on the reservations and primarily undergraduate institutions conduits for rural health research. MT INBRE V will bring together strengths in bench research, community based participatory research (CBPR), and healthcare workforce development as a unified front taking aim at health issues critical to Montana and the Western IDeA states. Our experience shows that building partnerships on a foundation of diverse perspectives and personal investment leads to measurable outcomes. MT INBRE V is focused on two main goals: 1) diversify the biomedical/health sciences research network and student pipeline in Montana, and 2) improve the health of rural, urban and Native Montanans through sustainable research. MT INBRE V will realize these goals and research targets through a detailed plan for enhancing diverse perspectives and four specific aims: Specific Aim 1. Build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive foundation for biomedical research and data science in Montana; Specific Aim 2. Build the state’s research base and capacity by providing support to faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students at participating institutions; Specific Aim 3. Engage students from primarily undergraduate institutions, community colleges, and tribal colleges in research; and Specific Aim 4. Reduce redundancy, increase interdisciplinary research collaborations among faculty, and broaden research and education opportunities for students in Western IDeA states through the Regional Alliance of INBRE Networks (RAIN).

Project Narrative MT INBRE V will catalyze and strengthen biomedical and health science research across a culturally and economically diverse network by valuing inclusivity and embracing all perspectives. The goal of this program is to use research to address health disparities in rural and tribal communities in Montana.