The INMED Learning Resource Center is located on the south end of the INMED wing on the second floor of the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and consists of a library, computer lab, and study rooms which are available to INMED students for extended hours during the week and on weekends.

The LRC atmosphere is set up to encourage effective study and camaraderie for students as well as offering reference sources such as books, audiovisual aids, and computer software in health curricula. The library contains over 2,500 books, subscribes to numerous tribal papers, and keeps a collection of periodicals geared to the Indian student studying in health-related fields. The computer lab has both Windows and Macintosh machines and offers scanning and support for both platforms as well as printing services. Computers in this area are loaded with Internet capabilities and word processing programs as well as software specific to the areas of study of the INMED students.

Study rooms are furnished with tables for group study or tutoring, desks for individual study, and whiteboards for notes and concept mapping. Also available are typwriters, projectors, microscopes, and other multimedia machines that students may need during their college career.

Services available to INMED students through the LRC include photocopying, color printing, transparencies, and computer technical support. A full-time librarian is available to monitor LRC materials and to assist students in their research. Student assistants trained in library procedures and computer troubleshooting are available evening and weekend hours.

Tutoring is available for each INMED student on request, and weekly group sessions in core area courses can be arranged. The INMED tutoring program is very helpful for students to enhance and strengthen foundations in math and science.

Each student whose grades fall below an acceptable level for his/her particular major is placed on probation with UND and INMED. Conditions of probation include tutoring sessions, periodic instructors' evaluations, weekly advising sessions, mandatory class attendance and individual testing to identify skill areas the student should strengthen.

INMED participants maintain unity by participation in an academically and socially oriented student organization, which is acknowledged and funded by UND's Student Activities Committee. The INMED students hold several social activities each year, including an annual powwow that attracts over 500 participants.

Many INMED students also participate in the UND chapter of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), a national organization which provides student activities and support services. Participants have the opportunity to attend AISES conferences and workshops, which are held throughout the United States.

The University of North Dakota has long held a commitment to providing a comfortable atmosphere and an effective learning environment for Indian students, and an Indian Studies department offers a variety of coursework. UND's American Indian population is the largest in the region, and many INMED students also participate in the University of North Dakota Indian Association, an active social and cultural organization serving over 300 Indian students on campus.

The INMED program offers health education sessions for students, educators and health professionals. These workshops focus on major Indian health issues, and have addressed such health topics as diabetes, alcoholism, domestic violence, tuberculosis, and hypertension.

An important feature of the INMED workshops is their American Indian orientation. The topics are presented with an Indian perspective on lifestyle, diet, patient compliance and health maintenance. Instructors for the seminars include IHS health professionals, national researchers and School of Medicine & Health Sciences faculty. Continuing Medical Education, Continuing Education and academic credit have been available for participation.

During college and professional school, Indian Health Service-funded scholarship students can obtain "hands-on" experience through IHS externships at Indian health facilities. INMED has assisted with placement for many students at their home reservations. The program has also placed participating students in summer research experiences that focus on Indian Health needs and issues. An alliance with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, will afford INMED medical students the opportunity to conduct cancer research among Native American communities.

INMED maintains a Stan Guardipee Memorial Student Loan Fund for emergency loans to help students through financial crisis situations. The fund has helped many students stay in school through difficult times.

The loan fund was initiated by the INMED Tribal Board, and was named after a Board member. Financial support for the fund comes from private contributions and INMED fundraising activities.

UNDSMHS is an important and growing research institution, and INMED is participating in the development of summer and academic-year laboratory placement for American Indian students. The School is also recruiting American Indians for M.D./Ph.D. programs and for post-doctoral research at UNDSMHS facilities.

The Center of Excellence in Neurosciences is a research-oriented program involving basic science and clinical departments. The goal of the Center is to help talented investigators develop expertise in multidisciplinary approaches toward the understanding of brain function in health and disease, including Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis, which have high incidences in the state of North Dakota.

The Center has proposed a program in conjunction with the federal Office of Neurological Disorders and the Association of American Indian Physicians, which will include research experiences for American Indian high school and college students.

UNDSMHS was recently awarded a five-year, $10.3 million grant for a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), which will fund five major research projects and establish imaging and mass spectrophotometry core facilities on campus.

The School also hosts a Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) program including a Tribal College/Baccalaureate Science Core. The Network enables tribal colleges to strengthen science instruction through curriculum development and utilization of videoconferencing for distance learning. BRIN also encourages student-oriented research projects and includes a scientist exchange program, with advanced graduate students entering teaching internships at tribal colleges. These internships generate release time for selected tribal college and baccalaureate college faculty to participate in research.