About INBRE IV

The State of Hawaii has unique and highly diverse marine life, plant life and people,
offering untapped resources and opportunities for discovery in the biomedical sciences.

 

Increasing Biomedical Research across Hawaii

INBRE IV is aimed at expanding the biomedical research capacity in Hawai’i by:

• Fostering and then nurturing undergraduate research and education in biomedical science at the University of Hawai’i and at our partner institutions under our PATHway to Biomedical Careers Activity
• Supporting promising junior investigators at our partner institutions under our Developmental Research Project Program.
• Offering a rich set of research and education resources, with emphasis on natural product discovery and development, and molecular medicine.

Program Summary

The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) provides biomedical research and education opportunities in Hawai’i by building research capacity at every level from our community colleges through our Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUls). INBRE IV – HiSREP (Hawaii State Research and Education Partnership) continues to expand a proven PATHway to Biomedical Careers outreach effort directed at invigorating and integrating the pipeline of potential biomedical researchers at our community colleges and baccalaureate universities through which students progress to careers as scientists and science educators. A complementary Developmental Research Project Program supports promising junior investigators at our PUIs.
INBRE IV is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).

Mission Statement

The Hawaii Statewide Research and Education Partnership (HiSREP) is an IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) grant supported under the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). INBRE IV-HiSREP is aimed at enhancing biomedical research at four of our primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) and five of our community colleges in Hawaii in order to foster biomedical careers at two critical stages: undergraduate and junior investigator/entry-level faculty. The program will therefore increase the quality and hence competitiveness of our developing researchers in Hawaii, as well as provide a pipeline of qualified students interested in biomedical careers.

Our current program, INBRE IV, is funded under an approximately $18.95 million award from NIGMS for a five-year period from May, 2018 to April, 2023. INBRE IV builds on the success of several previous INBRE and Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) grants, beginning the 17th year of continuous funding under the IDeA program. INBRE IV is administered by the John A. Burns School of Medicine. The PUIs in our partnership are: University of Hawaii at Hilo; Chaminade University; Hawaii Pacific University; University of Hawaii at West Oahu. The participating community colleges are: UH Maui College; Kapiolani Community College; Leeward Community College; Windward Community College; Kauai Community College.

INBRE IV – HiSREP is centered on two thematic areas: Natural Product Discovery and Molecular Medicine. Research on natural products builds upon exciting work among several of our partners, and will be expanded across the state, as each site has access to marine and plant life resources unique to Hawaii. In addition, research related to health disparities specific to Pacific Islanders will be supported. As a means to enhance research development and analysis in these areas, a strong Bioinformatics Core is available to all INBRE researchers and students. In addition, partnerships and collaborations between the PUIs and our research intensive, flagship university, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, provides essential resources for our INBRE researchers and students at multiple levels.

The INBRE Junior Investigators are mentored by a nationwide team of established, senior investigators with records of research success, with the aim of guiding the Junior Investigators toward their own independently, externally funded research programs. The entire program benefits from the advice of an External Advisory Committee comprised of world-renowned scientists.

Undergraduate / Community College student involvement in research will be promoted through our PATHway to Biomedical Careers. Science faculty across the state, including, in particular, the INBRE Junior Investigators, will provide research programs in which the students can participate. Students are encouraged to pursue research throughout their undergraduate program.