UTEP Border Biomedical Research Center

University Of Texas El Paso, El Paso TX

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC) at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is supported by the Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program and is a critical point for research initiatives focused on addressing health disparities that permeate the population in the far West Texas region called the Borderplex. The research projects and supporting cores that define this RCMI U54 application are based on a central working theme of targeted expansion that is expected to deliver transformational findings. The overall BBRC goals are to a) address health disparities that affect the people of our region, b) increase and sustain the infrastructure for basic, behavioral, population science and clinical research at UTEP, and c) create a mentoring environment that serves as a major point of entry for many students into the nation’s biomedical workforce. The goals will be pursued through the following aims: Aim 1. Support three research project areas focused on: Cancer biology and immunology (basic); integration of multiple data domains and advanced analytics as a platform to establishing physiological- and molecular, and sociobehavioral-based estimation metrics for predicting the likelihood of developing metabolic-related disease (clinical); and testing an adapted diabetes education intervention with regional patients (behavioral); areas with direct relevance and profound health implications for our population. Aim 2. Develop and enhance core capacity to ensure the success of the projects which require sophisticated imaging, modeling and analytic tools, guidance and support on community engaged methods; and collection of biospecimens and comprehensive primary sociobehavioral, molecular, physiological, and clinical data. Aim 3. Develop and support junior investigators by providing pilot funding, professional mentoring, and development workshops and programs. Aim 4. Increase and expand interactions with the community by partnering with key stakeholders and following community-based participatory research approaches and strategies. Aim 5. Recruit outstanding scientists to energize current faculty, mentor junior faculty and other trainees, and contribute to our research capacity. These aims will be pursued with the support of critical core facilities, including (but not limited to) the Administrative Core that will provide coordination, management, and governance of program components, and an evaluative component to ensure programmatic objectives are achieved; and the Research Capacity Core that will oversee and facilitate requisite technological, analytic, and experimental expertise. The proposed RCMI U54 application will expand the research capacity of the BBRC by studying a spectrum of health disparities, developing new biomarker and behavioral databases, and utilizing integrative analytics and predictive modeling, which collectively will advance new research frontiers to address health disparities in our region.