Blue Turf Thinkers: Biomedical Research Institute investigates harmful diseases

Researchers from the Biomedical Research Institute pose on the Blue Turf. Photo by Torin Alm

At each Boise State home football game, the "Blue Turf Thinkers" series honors outstanding groups and initiatives on the world-renowned Blue Turf. The Oct. 3 game's "Blue Turf Thinkers" featured the Biomedical Research Institute.

What is Boise State's Biomedical Research Institute?

The Biomedical Research Institute is a group of researchers who study diseases - why they happen, how we can prevent them, and possible treatments. The Institute's researchers study cancer, Alzheimer's disease, nervous system disorders and more. Though the Biomedical Research Institute is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, it's a multidisciplinary group that also includes faculty from the Colleges of Engineering and Health Sciences.

And it's not just faculty: undergraduate and graduate students at Boise State also serve important roles in biomedical research labs. These students often go on to careers in academia, industry and even government - where strong scientific communicators are needed to share important health topics with the public.

Biomedical science is for everyone

Biomedical sciences PhD student Mimi Gates presents research. Photo provided by Mimi Gates

One such student is Mimi Gates, a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Department. Gates is a nontraditional student and mother of three who decided to return to college after years in the workforce. She wanted to "check the box," she said, of getting a bachelor's degree.

Little did she know she would end up pursuing a doctorate. While she was a student at the College of Western Idaho, she "caught the research bug" during a three-week summer research experience. From there, she applied for and was accepted into the Bridges to Baccalaureate program, which provides support and mentorship to CWI students who intend to transfer to Boise State to study biomedical sciences.

At Boise State, Gates found encouragement at every turn.

"I thought, 'Oh, I'm too old to consider doing a PhD at this point,'" Gates remembered, "but I was told, 'No, that's not the case.' Just because I'm not necessarily an early 20-something, doesn't mean there isn't plenty of opportunity for me to get my hands dirty doing some actual research."

New treatments for harmful diseases

Gates's research within Professor Javier Ochoa-Repáraz's lab, focuses on Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

"MS is a disease where your body attacks itself," Gates explained. "The disease stops your brain from telling your body what to do, and we don't know why it happens."

Symptoms include progressive paralysis - those with MS often start to lose feeling in their extremities, and over time, lose the ability to walk. There is no cure, but Gates's research seeks to improve treatment.

"I'm looking at how different molecules that our body makes on its own can be used to help reduce the impact of multiple sclerosis," Gates said. "And when they do work, we're trying to figure out why they work."

The lab also studies how the gut microbiome influences MS, and vice versa.

"Sometimes, if we've got our own body attacking us, then things can get through the gut barrier that aren't supposed to," Gates said, "or the disease could be breaking down that gut barrier in order to allow bad things to to enter in."

According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, over three million people across the world are currently living with MS. The research that starts in Ochoa-Repáraz's lab could inform new treatment opportunities that change their lives.

National funding, national impact

Julia Oxford in the lab. Photo by John Kelly

Impactful disease research doesn't happen without grants. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) award from the National Institute of Health is one such funding source. According to Julia Oxford, researcher and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, COBRE's support has been transformative.

"In total, COBRE spans 15 years of support for Boise State," Oxford explained. "It started in 2014 with phase one, and then in 2019 phase two started, and in 2024, phase three began. Each phase provided over $10 million."

That funding helps establish core facilities, research labs that often hold expensive equipment which, in other circumstances, an individual investigator wouldn't be able to afford. The funding also helps researchers launch large-scale projects.

"We've had pilot grants that would fund people to get some preliminary data. They would go on to use that preliminary data to get their own large grant, and continue their research. We've seen lots of success like that," Oxford said.

A few examples of successful Biomedical Research Institute labs include Juliette Tinker, who studies vaccines and has also started her own company; Troy Rohn, who has studied Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, anxiety and more; and Cheryl Jorcyk, studying breast cancer. Oxford's own lab explores extracellular matrixes - complex networks of molecules and minerals, such as collogens, that support our body's cells.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1P30GM154497-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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