Maine INBRE in its 22nd Year – Looking Back and Ahead
As the Maine IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (ME-INBRE) enters its 22nd year, it is exciting to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and how we are positioned to further augment and expand biomedical research excellence in Maine. Since its inception in 2001, the network has grown from nine to 14 institutions.
The overarching goal of the ME-INBRE is to develop Maine’s capacity for cutting-edge biomedical research by providing scientific and administrative leadership, research resources (such as seed funding, state-of-the-art technological/computational infrastructure and technical expertise), training and mentoring, and programs that foster productive collaboration between Maine’s many talented but geographically spread out biomedical scientists and students.
20 members of the INBRE Steering Committee from 12 partner institutions, along with INBRE leadership and Core Directors, attended a retreat together in April to discuss how to expand on our efforts to make Maine a more scientifically collaborative state through the INBRE network of partners, and how to improve programs to reach more faculty and students. Ideas generated from this retreat will be used to develop proposals for new INBRE programs in the future.