Leadership Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., University of AR for Medical Sciences

1. Founded October 2001 by 3-year $6,000,000 Grant Award from NIH NCRR’s IDeA Program Leadership Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., University of AR for Medical Sciences Helen Beneš, Ph.D., University of AR for Medical Sciences Donald Bobbitt, Ph.D., University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Mary Good, Ph.D., University of Arkansas at Little Rock Caroline Miller-Robinson, B.S. – Project Coordinator Alice R. Smith, B.A. – Special Projects

2. IDeA States Purpose of BRIN: to promote biomedical research infrastructure in IDeA States (NIH/NCRR)

3. 60 50 40 NIH Funding (millions of dollars) 30 20 10 0 2000 2001 2002 Arkansas ($$ in thousands)* Rank* *NSF/NIH

4. Institutions Involved in Arkansas BRIN Harding University Arkansas Tech University Arkansas State University University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Hendrix College UAMS Ouachita Baptist University John Brown University UALR UAF University of Central Arkansas Lyon College University of Arkansas at Monticello Henderson State University

5. Arkansas BRIN Organization Steering Committee Administrative Core External Advisory Committee Bioinformatics Core Biotechnology Core Recruitment/ Mentoring Core • Expand biomedical research opportunities for undergraduate faculty and students through collaborations with graduate research institutions in Arkansas • Stimulate more proposals for federal grants in the biomedical sciences from Arkansas scientists • Advance statewide expertise in the rapidly developing disciplines of bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics and digital microscopy

6. Administrative Core • Develop website, http://BRIN.UAMS.edu • Develop promotional materials • Promote collaborations and participation in the Arkansas BRIN through outreach activities • Provide support for other Cores

7. Outreach Activities Student Career Day April 2002 & April 2003 – Total of 102 undergraduate students representing 11 undergraduate universities & colleges in Arkansas • Presentations: • Science Policy • Biotechnology Company Sales • Government Research • Academic Research • Pharmaceutical Research • Pharmaceutical sales • Scientific Correspondence • Patent Law Grant Writing Workshop June 27, 2003 – 23 BRIN faculty Keynote speaker Anthony Coelho, Jr., PhD, Review Policy Officer, NIH • Concurrent workshops: • Grant writing for success • Mock Study Session • Peer Review Process • An Eye on the Clock – Time Management • Dos & Don’ts of Grant Writing • IRB & IACUC

8. Biotechnology Core Genomics, Proteomics and Digital Microscopy Facilities • Enhance existing facilities • Expand research opportunities for undergraduate faculty and students through access to instrumentation and expertise • Advance statewide expertisein the rapidly developing disciplines of genomics, proteomics and digital microscopy • Sponsor workshops to educate researchers in different disciplines

9. cDNA Microarray Core Facility Microarray Working Group - Bimonthly Meetings Microarray Symposium for BRIN Fellows, June 2002 Proteomics Facilities UAMS Facility UAF Facility Proteomics Workshop University of Arkansas, Fayetteville June 2003 Digital Microscopy Facility Online Tutorial July 2003

10. Bioinformatics Core Central goal: to create a critical mass of faculty and support staff with expertise in bioinformatics & to facilitate their communication & interaction to meet needs of the AR research community Director: Mary Good, Ph.D. Associate Directors: Steve F. Jennings, Ph.D. – Education Gary Thompson, Ph.D. – Research

11. Definitions for BIOINFORMATICS: • a novel discipline integrating computer and information science to acquire, organize, store, analyze, and visualize biological and biomedical data • a discipline building upon computational biology to develop and apply methods for data analysis, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to study biological systems

12. Bioinformatics Core • Recruit Bioinformatics Faculty • UAF, UALR & UAMS • Develop a Joint Graduate Program in Bioinformatics • UALR, UAF, UAMS • Establish Access Grid Studios • To facilitate interactions among Arkansas BRIN institutions

13. Steve L. Jennings, Ph.D. to UALR • Associate Director of BRIN’S Bioinformatics Core Established the MidSouth Regional Center for Bioinformatics Faculty Recruitments • Tom Kieber-Emmons, Ph.D. to UAMS • Director of Basic Breast Cancer Research EstablishedThe Bioinformatics Center http:/bioinformatics.uams.edu

15. Arkansas Access Grid Conference Centers University of Arkansas at Little Rock Access Grid Conference Centers under construction University of Arkansas Housed at Mullins Library Est. completion Fall 2003 Arkansas State University Housed at Dean B. Ellis Library Est. completion Fall 2003 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

16. Recruitment & Mentoring Core • Support recruitment of faculty to undergraduate institutions • Provide mentored research opportunities for undergraduate faculty • Provide summer research opportunities for undergraduate students

17. Mentored Student Fellowships UAF ASU Hendrix Lyon UCA Summer 2003 – 16 Funded UALR UAPB OBU • Students select a research lab • Arkansas BRIN provides • Stipend • Housing/Travel Allowance • Research Supply Budget • Students agree to • Present a poster at Arkansas BRIN Research Day • Prepare a research paper UAM

18. Mentored Student Success Nikiya Meeks - 2002 BRIN Summer Fellow 2003 – B.S. from UALR in Management Information Systems & Business Administration 2003 – hired full-time by Microarray Core Facility (UAMS) to interface databases & work with Bioinformatics Center

19. JBU ASU Hendrix Lyon UCA UAPB OBU Faculty Recruitment to Undergraduate Institutions • Arkansas BRIN provides: A startup package • Undergraduate school agrees to • A tenure-track faculty appointment with an institutional (9-month) salary commitment • A commitment to sufficient protected time for faculty development of a research program • Faculty agree to • Commitment to developing a research program • Involvement in the Arkansas BRIN • Involve students in research

20. Mentored Faculty Fellowships JBU Lyon ASU ATU Hendrix Summer & Academic-Year – 20 Funded UCA Harding • Faculty & Mentor prepare proposal • Arkansas BRIN provides: • Stipend • Housing/Travel Allowance • Research Supply Budget • Faculty agree to: • Build long term relationship with mentor • Involve undergraduate students in research UAPB OBU HSU

21. Mentored Faculty Successes • Pradip Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D. - Professor, Hendrix College Received a fundable score for an NIH AREA Grant to continue research started with Arkansas BRIN funding • Mark Sutherland, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Hendrix College Summer research continued with funding from mentor’s NSF supplement • Philip Jemilohun, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Recruited to UAPB Received a fundable score for an NIH AREA Grant • Anne Grippo, Ph.D. and Roger Buchanan, Ph.D. - Associate Professors, AR State University Research now being funded by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute

22. JBU ASU Lyon UAF ATU Hendrix Hendrix Harding UCA UAMS UALR OBU UAPB HSU UAM Arkansas Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network

23. MidSouth Regional Center for Bioinformatics • Established by funding from AR BRIN & UALR’s CyberCollege • Steven F. Jennings – Executive Director • Roger Hall – Technical Director • Lisa Henderson – Managing Director • Equipment – Sun Microsystems (matching grant) • Workshop on Programming Skills for Bioinformatics Software • 4 sessions, June – August 2003: “Use of perl and bioperl” • NSF EPSCoR grant proposal to fund outreach programs • Plans for I2 connection to UAMS • to support Oracle database & Spotfire Microarray Analysis software

24. Joint Graduate Program in Bioinformatics • Jointly offered by UAMS & UALR Faculty • Exploiting Unique Expertises of Each Campus: • Information & Computer Science; Biostatistics • Biomedical Research • Curriculum built of currently taught and new courses • Lab rotations in four Core Areas – bioinformatics, life sciences, • biostatistics, computer & information sciences • M.S., Ph.D. degrees or Advanced Professional Certificate