A $16 million grant over five years will continue to build Nevada's biomedical research infrastructure. The National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health has renewed the Nevada IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence project, housed at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, through May 31, 2015.

Known as the NV INBRE, the project began in 2005 with the goals of increasing biomedical research infrastructure in Nevada and establishing a network linking researchers and educators at the University of Nevada Reno, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the Nevada Cancer Institute, Truckee Meadows Community College, Great Basin College and the College of Southern Nevada.

"This grant is extremely important because it represents a multi-faceted approach to building biomedical research capacity in Nevada," said Marsha Read, vice president of research at the University of Nevada, Reno. "Given Nevada's health care issues and needs, the value of this grant in developing research infrastructure, a pipeline of students from under-represented groups, community engagement and expansion into translational research cannot be underestimated."

During the first five years of the project, the NV INBRE supported biomedical researchers and established a series of statewide research service cores in bioinformatics, proteomics cytometry, confocal imaging, histology and live animal imaging. In addition, the INBRE established and developed a Biomedical Students Pipeline program that mentors under‐represented students enrolled in Nevada community colleges.

"With the renewal funding through May 2015, the NV INBRE will further develop the research base and capacity at the biomedical research institutions by supporting targeted hires of new researchers and providing research and mentoring support to faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students," said NV INBRE Director James Kenyon of the School of Medicine's Department of Physiology & Cell Biology. "In addition, this component of the NV INBRE will be expanded to include clinical research and community-based projects designed to address local health issues."

The NV INBRE will enlarge the Biomedical Students Pipeline by increasing mentoring and research programs for undergraduate students and by adding programs at Nevada State College and Great Basin College.

The NV INBRE will also begin a new collaboration with the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center, which is supported by "Clinical and Translational Science Awards" also funded by the National Center for Research Resources. Collaborations between IDeA projects and Clinical and Translational Science Centers are encouraged as it further leverages the federal funding of these programs. Nevada's collaborative relationship with the UC Davis Center will provide training in clinical and translational research for medical students, medical residents and faculty at Nevada's biomedical research institutions.