Mission
The mission of the Border Biomedical Research Center (BBRC) is to facilitate and expand the pathobiology research at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) by strengthening the research infrastructure of the institution. The BBRC, through collaborative efforts with nearby institutions, has become the focal point of pathobiology research that addresses the biomedical and health issues of the bicultural population of the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez region of the Texas-Mexico border. The BBRC will continue to have a positive impact on the number of Hispanics participating in science, and serve as a major point of entry for Hispanics and other underrepresented scientists for participation in the biomedical advances of the nation in the 21st century and beyond.
The Center has assigned priority to research in the areas of infectious diseases, toxicology, and neuroscience and metabolic disorders. The BBRC also supports multi-user research facilities in biochemistry/molecular cell biology, preparatory cell culture, analytical cytology, and statistical consulting.
The BBRC is supported by the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program (RCMI), administered by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health. Congressionally mandated in 1985, the RCMI program strives to lessen the disparity in health status between minority and majority populations by enhancing the capacity of eligible institutions to conduct biomedical and behavioral research. UTEP established the Border Biomedical Research Center in 1992 to carry out this important mission. The program involves faculty from the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, and Psychology.
RCMI funds are used to renovate laboratories, develop multidisciplinary core research facilities, provide support for faculty development, acquire state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, and enhance research collaborations with investigators from other institutions.
The new Biological Sciences building will house the three core research units and provide scientists with superior instrumentation and equipment to perform their work.
