Flynt Embraces INBRE’s Goal to Help Improve Quality of Life in State, Provide Opportunities for Students

Mon, 10/16/2023 - 01:26pm | By: David Tisdale

Dr. Alex Flynt has a vision for a healthier, happier, and more prosperous Mississippi, and believes The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) research network, the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (MS-INBRE), will play a big role in reaching that goal.

MS-INBRE is a statewide biomedical research network funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and headquartered on USM’s Hattiesburg campus since 2001. It includes students and faculty affiliated with higher education partners across the state, particularly those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs. 

Examples of research relationships that INBRE has include those with EPSCOR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research)and clinical trial programs at the University Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

A member of USM’s School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences since 2013, Dr. Flynt initially worked with INBRE in 2015 overseeing its research facility, with special management of its microscope supply, while also serving as director for USM’s Center for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences

In 2018, Dr. Flynt took over as INBRE program coordinator, managing funding awards made to other universities associated with the program; in 2022, he was named director of INBRE. INBRE’s grant from NIH is renewed every five years, with the application and award process taking approximately a year to complete; Dr. Flynt and his team successfully earned renewal notice in May.

Dr. Flynt said one of his goals as program director is increasing and improving coordination with other universities and colleges, public and private, throughout the state, involving the research efforts undertaken through INBRE.

“Through better coordination, we can get the most benefit out of the federal dollars invested in Mississippi by maximizing our research capabilities,” he explained.

Dr. Flynt says he also wants to see a continuation of the effort to build a culture of research excellence, and by doing so, college students involved in INBRE research will benefit, which will result in workforce enhancement producing more doctors and nurses, ultimately improving quality of life indicators in Mississippi’s by addressing health disparities “in a way that every Mississippian of every background benefits.”

“By advancing STEM education, we’re producing the next generation of scientists who can help us move Mississippi to a knowledge-based economy that will also help raise our quality of life through our research coordination with other universities and colleges in the state,” Dr. Flynt further noted, while also expressing appreciation to USM administrators for their “outstanding support of INBRE, which has been critical.”

“I’m happy to be a part of this effort, and to affect change and improve health outcomes across Mississippi.”

Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the USM College of Arts and Sciences, says Dr. Flynt’s leadership of INBRE for the renewal proposal for the NIH grant was invaluable. 

“INBRE is a large and complex program involving numerous partners from across Southern Miss, as well as several other institutions around the state. It takes a very high level of coordination and communication to develop, propose, and manage such programs,” Dr. Winstead further noted. “Dr. Flynt’s work is therefore impacting students not only from Southern Miss, but from universities and colleges across Mississippi.

“His own scientific work has been highly successful, so his leadership of INBRE is informed by years of transformative research in his own laboratory. Biomedical research evolves extremely quickly and having an experienced and knowledgeable leader like Dr. Flynt for INBRE is critical.”

Learn more about INBRE.