Allyson Hindle (Life Sciences) received a research award sponsored by the Regional Alliance of INBRE Networks (RAIN). RAIN is funded by the National Institutes of Health to improve collaborative biomedical research efforts in western states. The title of the award is "Harnessing of Deep-diving Seal Cardioprotective Factors as Novel Therapy for Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury." Myocardial infarction, the consequence of cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), is the leading cause of death in the United States. Inflammation contributes to ischemic cardiac injury. Deep-sea diving seals naturally withstand ischemia-reperfusion without damage and have been shown to possess an innate anti-inflammatory protein component in their blood serum. This new RAIN collaborative team (Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho) and project aim to identify this putative cardioprotective factor as a novel therapy for IRI.