Davis Plasko carried out a photoredox reaction. Plasko, who graduated in May 2017 with a B.S. in chemistry, is currently a Ph.D. student in organic chemistry at the University of Houston.


SC INBRE FACTS:


•The SC INBRE Network grew from seven institutions to the current 13 from 2005 to 2019, and will include 14 institutions in the next funding cycle, expected to start in 2020.


•SC INBRE brings together faculty and students across the network for workshops, training, and scientific symposia on a regular basis, to foster even greater collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and the sharing of resources.


•Mentoring is very important as a conduit to achieving SC INBRE’s goals across the network: students are mentored in their laboratory research experience, where they work one-on-one with faculty.


Over the past 15 years, Winthrop has transformed the way students and faculty pursue science with the help of three federal grants.


With an application for a fourth National Institutes of Health grant pending, administrators and faculty can look back proudly on what they’ve accomplished since 2005 through the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, commonly known as INBRE. Te first three grants have brought in almost $6 million to the institution.


Te grants provide funding for South Carolina’s three research universities and teaching institutions such as Winthrop to focus on biomedical research to combat the state’s problematic heart disease and cancer rates. Its other goal is to train the next generation of science and health professionals.


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TRANSFORMING SCIENCE WITH GRANT FUNDING


State INBRE coordinators have noticed the positive change at Winthrop. “As one of the most successful colleges in the network, Winthrop provides an excellent example of how much growth and progress can be achieved when institutional goals match the objectives of SC INBRE,” said Lucia A. Pirisi-Creek, a professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of South Carolina and past principal investigator overseeing SC INBRE.


INBRE has radically upgraded Winthrop’s research culture, noted Chemistry Professor Robin Lammi


who handled Winthrop’s past two INBRE applications. Te federal funding further supplemented Winthrop’s dedication to providing state-of-the-art science facilities such as Dalton Hall and Sims Science Building. Tese facilities helped fuel the science surge, along with an unprecedented investment made by Winthrop in equipment and resources over multiple years.


“INBRE has given us the time and tools to engage our students in cutting-edge science, preparing them to succeed in the workforce and in graduate or professional school,” Lammi said.


Te INBRE grants have enabled Winthrop to:


• Build a biomedical research team from one or two active researchers to a cadre of more than 15 faculty mentors in the chemistry, biology and math departments.


• Start and grow a summer research program that has become the central component of a STEM education. Since 2006, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) has provided more than 350 students with the opportunity to conduct lab research for up to two years in their chosen projects.


learning opportunity and a one- on-one chance for mentorship, said Chemistry Professor Takita Sumter, who is vice provost for faculty affairs and serves as a co-principal investigator.


• Invite preeminent scientists to campus for lectures.


• Give more than 100 undergraduates a solid footing to advance into biomedical Ph.D. and professional programs at what are historic and ever-increasing rates. Students prepare presentations and posters on their findings and travel to conferences to talk about their results.


Professor Pat Owens, chair of the Department of Chemistry, Physics and Geology and leader of Winthrop’s INBRE efforts through the first


2018 SURE participants


• Provide for its faculty to increase their scholarly activity to previously unheard of levels, publishing peer-reviewed work and securing non-INBRE grant funds totaling more than $2 million. Students help with the faculty research, giving the student an ideal


decade, said INBRE is the biggest recruiting tool for his area, which has provided leadership on the grants.


“We are not in the research business here, we are in the people business,” Owens said. “We provide opportunities for students to learn about science, and research is the most effective tool to do that.”


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