It’s Official! KY INBRE is renewed for another five years! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 10, 2024

(Louisville, KY) — The Kentucky Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (KY INBRE) is excited to announce that our grant has been renewed for another five years. The renewal from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) totals more than $20 million for a period of performance beginning May 1, 2024 and ending April 30, 2029. The University of Louisville is the lead institution of the statewide grant. Dr. Martha Bickford, Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, is the Principle Investigator and Program Director and Dr. Eric Rouchka, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, is the Associate Director.

The NIGMS IDeA program funds statewide networks of higher education and research institutions in each IDeA-state and Puerto Rico to build biomedical research capacity through support for faculty research and mentoring, student participation in research, and research infrastructure enhancement at network institutions. Kentucky’s first NIH statewide biomedical research grant began in 2001 under the previous funding program, Biomedical Research Network (BRN) and has received consecutive five-year renewals through the INBRE program which began in 2004.

Said Dr. Bickford, “We are pleased to announce this renewal. The number of programs supported by KY INBRE and the number of partner and affiliated institutions have grown over time. This renewal will allow us to continue impacting the research, education and workforce development pipelines in our state.The current award includes $250,000 for research-related renovations at Western Kentucky University (spearheaded by Dr. Noah Ashley).”

“Since 2001, the KY INBRE program (formerly KBRIN) has directly brought almost $98 million to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This investment has greatly impacted the research capacity of the state. For example, during the last funding cycle KY INBRE sponsored investigators received an additional $20 million from the NIH, over 2,000 students received research training, and KY INBRE affiliated investigators published over 200 articles,” continued Bickford. “As this fifth INBRE funding cycle was achieved based on the accomplishments of investigators and trainees across the state, I congratulate all of our partner and affiliate institutions. This award positions us to continue our program’s impact on the future of biomedical research throughout Kentucky.”

Media Contact:

Cyndy Buckhaults

KY INBRE Communications Manager

Email | (803) 546-4569