LBRN Logo

Louisiana Biomedical Research Network

About LBRN

Mission Statement

Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) was established in September 2001 with Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks (BRIN) funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) Grant P20RR016456, the LBRN is committed to raising the research competitiveness of Louisiana researchers. IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) is the second phase of the BRIN Program when LBRN initially started. Currently, LBRN is in the fourth phase with continued funding by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Grant 8P20GM103424 and the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund.

People

The Louisiana Biomedical Research Network consists of people made up from the Administrative Core, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Computational Biology Core, Molecular and Cell Biology Resources Core, Currently Funded Project Investigators of all types, Past Funded Project Investigators, Primarily Undergraduate Institutional Steering Committee Members, and External Advisory Committee Members.

People Page

Goals

  • Maintain and expand the previously established state-wide infrastructure and intellectual research network supporting interdisciplinary biomedical research.
  • Expand and improve the critical mass of biomedical investigators at primary PUI campuses through the support of mentored research, and enhanced communication.
  • Increase student interest in biomedical research careers throughout Louisiana by providing summer research opportunities to all institutions within the State.
  • Evaluate, assess and continuously monitor the progress within LBRN through detailed tracking of research accomplishments, the development of human resources, and productive collaborations among participating institutions.

Logic Model 2020-2025

Logic Model 2020-2025

Louisiana Campuses

Cores

  • Admin
  • BBC
  • MCBR

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core (AC) of the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) provides the project with its overall leadership, day-to-day management, evaluation of all of its component parts, and communication with NIH staff. The AC is led by the Principal Investigator in close consultation with the Program Coordinator, as well as the Steering Committee and External Advisory Committee.

K Gus Kousoulas

(Principal Investigator)

  • Louisiana State University
  • School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Baton Rouge LA 70803
  • vtgusk@lsu.edu
  • (225) 578-5833

Brent Stanfield

(Grant Coordinator)

  • Louisiana State University
  • School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Baton Rouge LA 70803
  • Bstanf5@lsu.edu

Ojasvi Dutta

(Program Manager)

  • Louisiana State University
  • School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Baton Rouge LA 70803
  • odutta@lsu.edu

Nayong Kim

(Assistant Director, CCT)

  • Louisiana State University
  • Center for Computation & Technology
  • Baton Rouge LA 70803
  • nykim@cct.lsu.edu
  • (225) 578-5486

Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Computational Biology Core

The Bioinformatics, Biostatistics, and Computational Biology Core (BBCC) of the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) serves to train and support project investigators and their teams across Louisiana, and to lead and support translational research activities at the frontiers of biomedical science. Its team uses both established and custom computational tools, operating at computational scales ranging from the mundane to analyses engaging many hundreds of compute cores.

Christopher Taylor

BBC Core Director

Urska Cvek

Associate Director

Nayong Kim

Associate Director

Emmanuelle Ruiz

Assistant Director

Seetharama Jois

ULM

Urska Cvek

LSUS

Thomas Bishop

LA Tech

April Wright

SELU

Paul Kim

Grambling

Matthew Hayes

Xavier

Eduardo Martinez-Ceballos

SUBR

Molecular and Cell Biology Resources Core

Molecular and cell biology provide an essential linkage among important basic fields of biomedical science, such as genetics, developmental biology, structural biology, immunology, neurobiology, and cancer biology. The MCBRC takes advantage of existing highly organized, centralized services and equipment facilities located primarily at the LSU flagship institution in Baton Rouge, effectively uniting these units toward the common goal of supporting biomedical research performed by PUI investigators. The MCBRC will provide technical and logistical support, enabling the ready exchange of information, ideas, technology, and research capabilities among PUI investigators. MCBRC will ensure that PUI researchers have full access to state-of-the-art equipment and modern research techniques and services.

Yong-Hwan Lee

MCBR Core Director

LSU Bio Dept.

Gianluca Veggiani

Associate Director & Protein Core Manager

LSU SVM

Vladimir Chouljenko

Associate Director

LSU SVM

Elahe Mahdavian

LSUS

Srinivas Garlapati

ULM

Rebecca Giorno-McConnell

LA Tech

Chris Beachy

SELU

Waneene Dorsey

Grambling

Cecily Defreece

Xavier

Sanjay Batra

SUBR