PROJECT SUMMARY The overarching goal of Rhode Island-IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (RI-INBRE) is to improve institutional capacity for biomedical research excellence and to expand student experiential training opportunities in the State of Rhode Island. We will accomplish this goal by growing statewide institutional research capacity, supporting early career research faculty development, and by providing structured and mentored research training experiences for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. RI- INBRE is comprised of two research-intensive institutions, the University of Rhode Island and Brown University, five primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs)(Bryant University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, and Salve Regina University), and one community college, the Community College of Rhode Island. The University of Rhode Island (URI) is the lead institution of RI-INBRE and serves as the major network administrative and assessment hub. RI-INBRE will be composed of five major core components: the Administrative Core, the Bioinformatics Core, the Centralized Research Core Facility (CRCF) Core, the Training Core, and the Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) Core. Since its inception in 2001, RI-INBRE has had a transformative impact on the biomedical research environment throughout Rhode Island and, in particular, at several of the network PUIs. We have accumulated a wealth of experience on how to develop and enhance a biomedical research environment through targeted investment and structured mentoring. The implementation of a successful research capacity building program requires sustained and long-term strategies. During the renewal period, we will build upon our successes to date and implement several new innovative strategies to expand the impact of the program and to develop a broadly inclusive, productive, and sustainable culture of biomedical research excellence in Rhode Island. The Ocean State is on the cusp of becoming a major player in biomedical research. Continued funding of RI-INBRE is essential to maintain a dynamic and well-trained biomedical workforce, to continue to promote biomedical research sea-changes at the network PUIs, and to promote investment and entrepreneurship in the biomedical sciences in Rhode Island.

The RI-INBRE program strives to improve the biomedical research infrastructure and training capacity in Rhode Island, specifically in the areas of Cancer, Neuroscience, and Environmental Health Sciences.