Rock Springs' Brent Rhodes Receives UW's INBRE Transition Scholarship

Brent Rhodes breathed a huge sigh of relief after learning he received an INBRE Transition Scholarship. The award takes a load off his biggest concern -- how to continue to pay for his higher education at the University of Wyoming.

“This scholarship has been the biggest stepping stone in my academic career,” says Rhodes, from Rock Springs. “The INBRE Transition Scholarship will provide me relief from the biggest barrier in my path to a higher education -- financial problems, that is.”

Rhodes, who recently received his associate of science degree from Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC), is one of seven students from Wyoming’s community colleges who received INBRE Transition Scholarships to study and conduct research at UW this fall.

He plans to pursue his master’s degree in wildlife at UW and credits Will Clark, a WWCC professor, with helping him find his love for wildlife and biology. He also gave credit to WWCC’s labs and materials that helped him with his research, and his parents for pushing him when things were tough for him.

“I am unbelievably grateful for this opportunity, and am looking forward to showing that I am truly deserving of this award,” Rhodes says.

UW’s IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program awards INBRE Transition Scholarships to outstanding life science students from Wyoming's community colleges where INBRE-sponsored research is conducted. For two years, students receive up to $2,500 each semester to pursue degrees and receive training in UW research laboratories.

After their first semester, students join a UW faculty member's lab, where they will conduct research for the remainder of their degree programs.

UW is one of 22 institutions funded by the National Institutes for Health INBRE Program. INBRE funding is intended to enhance biomedical research capacity; expand and strengthen the research capabilities of biomedical faculty; and provide access to biomedical resources for promising undergraduate students throughout the eligible states.

Other students who received the scholarship include:

Cody -- Wyatt Fabrizio, Northwest College.

Comitan, Mexico -- David Rach, Northwest College.

Conrad, Mont. -- Rachel Lamb, Central Wyoming College.

Kinnear -- Russell Goff, Central Wyoming College.

Riverton -- Tyler Graham, Central Wyoming College.

Rock Springs -- Anne Salisbury, Western Wyoming Community College.