University of Alaska Fairbanks has received a $21.25-million grant from the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research and training across the state.
The grant, which will be used over the course of five years, was announced Wednesday (Oct. 1) in a release from the university. It renews the National Institutes of Health’s Institutional Development Award, which is also known as the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence or INBRE.
The award was established in 2001 and led by University of Alaska Fairbanks. It’s a state-wide collaboration that includes the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Southeast, the Southcentral Foundation, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Iḷisaġvik College.
The release adds that the program follows a One Health approach, “which recognizes that human health is connected to the health of animals and the environment.”
Alaska INBRE director Jason Burkhead said the new award adds an emphasis on undergraduate training while continuing to support mentoring and professional development for biomedical researchers at all career stages.
Burkhead, who is also a professor in UAF’s Institute of Arctic Biology, added the program is organized around a developmental research program, a student research program and three research cores: data science, research analytics and community-based participatory research.
The program’s current projects include research into prenatal care in southeast Alaskan communities, food security and toxins in subsistence foods such as shellfish. Previous funding supported studies of tick-borne pathogens, infections among migrating salmon and the risks of avian influenza to hunters.
Alaska INBRE is also led by associate director Julie Benson and program coordinator Kristin O’Brien. Research cores are led by Katie Cueva for community-based participatory research, Devin Drown for data science and Patrick Tomco for research analytics.
