Mentoring Core
Faculty Mentoring:
KBRIN-mediated Faculty Mentoring is supplemental to the collaborative processes already in place between faculty and their existing discipline-specific mentors. The KBRIN-process is structured to facilitate the development of federally competitive biomedical research programs with the aid of a set of best practices. These best practices are designed to complement the financial support provided through our research funding activities (see Research Support). The over-riding goal is to develop independent investigators who can provide superior research experiences for undergraduate students. The main aim of this core is to provide support and training to help junior investigators establish high quality pilot data as required to compete successfully for NIH funding. The major duties and responsibilities of members in this core include:
- Develop research grant support guidelines
- Review all grant support applications
- Provide extensive formative critiques in NIH format
- Plan and present intensive NIH R15 proposal development workshops
- Site visits with KBRIN funded PIs and institutional administrators
- Identify potential collaborators and state of the art resources (e.g., microarray facilities)
- Review NIH R15 applications and critiques
Membership includes:
- Mark Bardgett - NKU
- Cheryl Davis -WKU
- Doug Dennis - MSU
- Pat Calie - EKU
- Martha Peterson - UK
- Pamela Feldhoff – U of L
- Nigel Cooper – U of L
- Bruce Mattingly – MSU - Chair
- R15 grant holders with knowledge of specific domains as needed
- Study Section members who may have working experience of the R15 review process
Student Mentoring:
The Student Mentoring Core is structured to promote education and training in biomedical research and is composed of faculty at the KBRIN member institutions with experience in mentoring undergraduate students in research and providing guidance in career development. The main objective of the core is to encourage bright and talented undergraduate students to pursue research careers in the biomedical sciences through the provision of mentored research opportunities. Currently, the core provides education and training for PUI students through two mechanisms: the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at our two doctoral institutions, and the year-round Faculty Mentored Student-Research Experiences program in the laboratories of KBRIN-supported investigators throughout the state.
Summer Undergraduate Biomedical Research Program
This intensive ten week immersion program provides students with the opportunity to work full-time under the supervision of research faculty members at the University of Louisville or the University of Kentucky. The student mentoring core provides comprehensive oversight of the summer program including:
- Development of guidelines
- Review of student applications
- Matching selected students with faculty research mentors
- Approval and oversight of a common research curriculum including workshops and seminars on important general research topics such as research ethics, biosafety, animal and/or human subjects protections, poster presentations, etc.
- Use of program evaluation and student tracking tools to assess program effectiveness
Membership includes:
- Pamela Feldhoff – U of L
- Peter Mirabito - UK
- Pat Calie - EKU
- Dawn Anderson – Berea - Chair
Faculty Mentored Student-Biomedical Research in Home Institutions
This program provides part-time mentored research opportunities for undergraduate students during the academic year (and summer) at their home institution under the guidance of KBRIN-supported research faculty. In addition to research training, faculty mentors provide graduate school and career guidance. The core often provides travel support depending on availability, for student presentations at state, regional, and national conferences including the Posters on the Capitol event, the Kentucky Academy of Sciences and the UT-ORNL-KBRIN Bioinformatics Summit. The major goal of this program is to provide students with the opportunity to obtain training in biomedical research. Students who may be interested in relevant laboratories at their home institution that may be available for research training can make inquiries of KBRIN-Lead Faculty.
WKU - Dr. Cheryl Davis Email
NKU - Dr. Mark Bardgett Email
EKU - Dr. Pat Calie Email
MSU - Dr. Doug Dennis Email
