Shared Core Facilities Serve as Hubs for Biomedical Research Network at Institutions of Emerging Excellence.

We analyzed co-authorship patterns within the National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology program from 2014 to 2022. In this study, we analyzed junior investigators, senior researchers, and research scientists within a shared core facility. Social network analysis techniques were applied to evaluate the co-authorship network based on journal publications from members of the center. The results indicated that co-authorship network visualization and analysis is a useful tool for understanding the relationship between a shared core facility and young investigators within a research center. Young investigators collaborated with and relied upon the individual research scientists of the shared core facility to serve as contributing members of their extended research team. This reliance on the shared core facility effectively increases the size and productivity of the research team led by the young investigator. Our results indicate that shared core facility staff may serve as hubs within the network of biomedical researchers, particularly at institutions with a growing research emphasis. Listen to this article.

How to Develop a Grant Writing Course for Undergraduate Students.

Grant writing is an important skill to develop, allowing students to envision solutions to issues that impact their local, regional, and global communities. Additionally, grant writing, like other research-associated activities, can improve student success in and out of the classroom. Grant writing can help students understand the alignment between research activities and a "big picture" understanding of the common good and societal impact of the research. Grant writing can improve students' ability to articulate the significance and broader impacts of research. Faculty mentors can play a major role in grant writing activities by helping to guide undergraduate students through the process. A course-based approach can help instructors who mentor students in research by providing scaffolding and scheduling tools. This article provides an overview of a grant writing course used as an efficient and effective way for undergraduate students to be guided through the grant proposal writing process with a greater potential for positive outcomes. We discuss why undergraduate students should learn how to write grant proposals, the advantages of teaching grant writing in a course-based format, time management, learning outcomes, and ways to assess student learning. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Gateway Scholars Program - reducing barriers to STEM for undergraduate students through scholarship and supportive programs.

This report presents the Gateway Scholars Program, an NSF-S-STEM supported program that recruited academically talented undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. The objectives of our program included establishing a mentored cohort program, implementing enhanced risk-based advising, integrating evidence-based instructional practices in the curriculum, engaging students in co-curricular experiences, and generating new knowledge about the effect of activities on retention, student success, and degree attainment. Knowledge about broadening participation and effectiveness of evidence-based practices in STEM curricular and co-curricular activities and systems developed through this program have the potential to impact all STEM departments.

Social network analysis of biomedical research growth at a primarily undergraduate institution.

The National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award Programs support the establishment and growth of biomedical research infrastructure in states that receive a low level of federal funding for biomedical research. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the growth in research productivity over time. This program fostered an environment in which a biomedical research program could be developed and allowed to grow at Boise State University, a primarily undergraduate institution. The growth of the biomedical research community can be visualized through social network analysis.

Data Management Tools to Measure the Impact of Core Facilities.

The Biomolecular Research Center at Boise State University is a research core facility that supports the study of biomolecules with an emphasis on protein structure and function, molecular interactions, and imaging. The mission of the core is to facilitate access to instrumentation that might otherwise be unavailable because of the cost, training for new users, and scientific staff with specialized skills to support early-stage investigators, as well as more established senior investigators. Data collection and management of users and their research output is essential to understand the impact of the center on the research environment and research productivity. However, challenges are often encountered when trying to fully quantify the impact of a core facility on the institution, as well as on the career success of individual investigators. This challenge can be exacerbated under the conditions of unprecedented growth in biomedical research and shared core facility use that has been experienced at Boise State University, an institution of emerging research excellence. Responding to these challenges required new approaches to information management, reporting, assessment, and evaluation. Our specific data management, evaluation, and assessment challenges included 1) collection and management of annual reporting information from investigators, staff, and students in a streamlined manner that did not lead to reporting fatigue; 2) application of software for analyzing synergy among programs' management strategy and investigator success; and 3) consolidation of core facility management, billing, and reporting capabilities into 1 cohesive system. The data management tools adopted had a beneficial effect by saving time, reducing administrative burden, and streamlining reporting. Practices implemented for data management have facilitated effective evaluation and future program planning. The substantial burden of assessment requirements necessitates early consideration of a strategy for data management to allow assessment of impact.

Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology: Building Research Infrastructure, Supporting Young Researchers, and Fostering Collaboration.

The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology strives to improve our understanding of extracellular matrix at molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels to generate new knowledge about pathophysiology, normal development, and regenerative medicine. The primary goals of the Center are to i) support junior investigators, ii) enhance the productivity of established scientists, iii) facilitate collaboration between both junior and established researchers, and iv) build biomedical research infrastructure that will support research relevant to cell-matrix interactions in disease progression, tissue repair and regeneration, and v) provide access to instrumentation and technical support. A Pilot Project program provides funding to investigators who propose applying their expertise to matrix biology questions. Support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health that established the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Matrix Biology has significantly enhanced the infrastructure and the capabilities of researchers at Boise State University, leading to new approaches that address disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. New multidisciplinary collaborations have been formed with investigators who may not have previously considered how their biomedical research programs addressed fundamental and applied questions involving the extracellular matrix. Collaborations with the broader matrix biology community are encouraged.