CCRI joins network of state colleges in federally-funded biomedical research collaborative

Posted 11/5/19

Spearheaded by a $20 million grant from the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), the Community College of Rhode Island is now part of a select network of state colleges, providing both students and faculty members with exclusive

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CCRI joins network of state colleges in federally-funded biomedical research collaborative

Posted

Spearheaded by a $20 million grant from the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), the Community College of Rhode Island is now part of a select network of state colleges, providing both students and faculty members with exclusive access to unparalleled opportunities in the research field.

INBRE is a federally funded collaborative effort among partner institutions that selects highly-qualified undergraduates to pursue original biomedical research within multiple academic laboratories.

The University of Rhode Island originally applied for the INBRE grant five years ago as the state’s lead institution and reapplied this past year with CCRI added for the first time as one of the seven partner institutions, a list that also includes Brown University, Bryant University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University.

CCRI Biology Department Chair Christine Turenius-Bell says the partnership serves two purposes: It will encourage students to participate in research projects and promote faculty development. As a partner institution, CCRI can send students interested in participating in research projects to any of the partner institutions to work with experts in the field as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, all of which is funded through the grant. Faculty can also work with fellow research professionals at any of the partner institutions by either bringing their classes to another facility to observe research methods, or brainstorming with colleagues to update and improve their own curriculum.

“Our role is to create a pool of candidates to filter them out to those four-year universities,” Turenius-Bell said. “What we’ve found is undergraduates are all too often transferring to four-year colleges without the necessary tools to become juniors who understand research methods or research techniques. The students who have been through the SURF program are head and shoulders above others who have not gone through it, including students who are coming from the other partner institutions.”

“The faculty bringing new information to our students are elevating the quality of our courses,” she added. “We need to stay ahead of the curve with what is going on in the industry and in research. We need to keep our students up to date.”

CCRI’s first INBRE cohort begins this summer. To qualify for SURF, students must first identify a research mentor at a partner institution and communicate with them directly to pitch an idea for a project. Research proposals are submitted to the INBRE steering committee, which then makes the final approval. Students and research mentors also receive a stipend.

An additional benefit for CCRI is the operator-assisted access to equipment. Faculty can bring students to another lab to work with state-of-the-art equipment or potentially acquire equipment no longer being used at one of the partner institutions.

For more information, visit ccri.edu.

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  • Katrina

    Although CCRI's acceptance as a research site in the INBRE network is new, CCRI's students have been accepted into the SURF program for many years. The Chemical Technology program typically has at least two students accepted each year where they've worked with research mentors in the Chemistry, Pharmacy and Marine Sciences departments at URI. In fact, the Warwick Beacon reported a couple of years ago on the CCRI/URI program to produce PS48, a potential treatment for Alzheimer's; that collaboration was initiated by Chemical Technology students' work with INBRE, and the Chem Tech program has an ongoing relationship with the INBRE labs at URI. As a graduate of the Chem Tech program, I just can't help highlighting this amazing program at CCRI every chance I get (sorry!)!

    Saturday, November 9, 2019 Report this