Please note: The Puerto Rico BRIN project finished in September of 2004. It has been replaced by the Puerto Rico AABRE project. Information about this project can be found at http://aabre.hpcf.upr.edu/

Puerto Rico Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network

Executive Summary

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR), as host institution, with the endorsement of the Puerto Rico IDeA Committee, and sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the NIH has created the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks in Puerto Rico (BRIN-PR) Program. The main goals of the BRIN-PR are to:

1. enhance and strengthen the scientific infrastructure and research competitiveness of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in three specific research areas deemed to be key to advance Puerto Rico's biomedical and behavioral research capacity;
2. elevate the productivity, competitiveness, and number of human resources needed to attract established investigators in those research areas; and
3. promote the development of research skills of talented junior investigators and gifted students.

The scientific areas to be enhanced and strengthen were selected by the BRIN-PR Steering Committee after consensus of all participating institutions, and these are Neuroscience, Mental Health, and Medical Biotechnology.

These goals will be achieved by creating and establishing:

• an Administrative Core
• a Bioinformatics Core
• a Mentoring and Training Core and
• a Research Core on three thematic scientific areas (Neuroscience, Mental Health and Medical Biotechnology).

The Administrative Core will provide administrative and logistical support to the research networks. The Bioinformatics Core, housed at the High Performance Computing facility (HPCf) of UPR, will provide access to technical expertise and data analysis tools for the researchers within the three thematic research clusters (Neuroscience, Mental Health and Medical Biotechnology). This core will also assist the BRIN-PR institutions to upgrade their connectivity to the HPCf. The Mentoring and Training Core will create programs for support of junior researchers and students (graduate and undergraduate) as well as other Professional Development opportunities to investigators within the Researcher Clusters (Neuroscience, Mental Health and Medical Biotechnology). Finally, the Research Core will provide support to junior researchers for collaborative research studies within the BRIN institutions as they fit in one of the thematic research cluster areas. Junior researcher, under the guidance of a mentor, will be required to submit a written proposal for a rigorous external peer-review. Proposals will be evaluated and those with the greatest potential and merits will be funded. The BRIN-PR Steering Committee will make the final funding recommendations.