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The Montana State Energy Research Institute (ERI) is an official research center part of Montana State University. The Institute explores a wide variety of energy-related fields. Involving an average of 200 people in annual investigations the center averages over $13 million in annual research activity.

Montana State Energy Research Institute (ERI)

Parent institution	Montana State University
Mission	To encourage, develop, and manage energy-related research at Montana State University aimed at developing balanced energy solutions to address state and national needs.
Address	P.O. Box 172465
Location	Bozeman , Montana
Website	https://www.montana.edu/energy/

Research

From fundamental studies that explore material mechanisms to applied studies that help develop critical technologies, ERI conducts research on a wide range of research topics.

Research Projects

• Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership
• Mineralization Technologies
• Wind Applications Center
• High Temperature Electrochemistry Center
• The Zero Emission Research and Technology Collaborative

Areas of Study and Expertise

• Catalysis
• Computational
• Energy Biotechnologies
• Energy Materials
• Environmental Monitoring & Remote Sensing
• Natural Resources and Fossil Energy
• Social and Economic Issues
• Systems, Buildings & Energy Efficiency

Energy Topics

Biofuels

ERI has designated a significant amount of research resources to focus on biofuel topics. As opposed to fossil fuels, biofuels are derived from biological matter such as seeds and grains. Biofuels tend to emit less carbon into the atmosphere due to the natural processes already done by the plants used. The research done by the institute seeks to make biofuels more efficient and more cost-effective. Biofuel research is done for both industrial and agricultural practices.

Carbon Sequestration

Scientists affiliated with ERI are at the forefront of geological and terrestrial carbon sequestration research. Carbon sequestration is a proposed method to decrease the impact and amount of carbon in the atmosphere and decrease the effects of global warming.

Geological sequestration research and practices inject CO2 underground, storing the compound in porous rock. Scientists are exploring ways to put billions of tons of CO2 safely underground.

Fuel Cells and Batteries

The institute's fuel cell research focuses on the solid oxide fuel cell or SOFC. The research aims to fix problems associated with SOFCs and make fuel cells an affordable and practical energy source. Researchers at MSU are engineering the ceramic and metallic parts of the fuel cells that protect them from degradation, and increase the life span of the cells. Research affiliates are also working to develop protective coatings that will help parts survive in the extremely high temperatures inside operating fuel cells.

Renewables

ERI focuses on wind power as a renewable energy source and is putting substantial research efforts into making the energy source as efficient and affordable as possible. Research done by MSU will decrease the cost of wind turbine ownership and operation, increase the lifespan of turbines, and effectively model smooth operation for local manufacturers.

Currently, researchers are focusing on turbine blades in hopes of increasing strength and durability. Turbine blades typically account for 30 percent of a wind system's cost.

See Also

• Montana State University

External Links

• Energy Research Institute Webpage
• Montana State Energy Research Institute Wikidata Item

References

Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity (CAIRHE)

Parent institution	Montana State University
Established	September 15, 2014
Mission	To reduce significant health disparities in Native and rural communities through community-based participatory research (CBPR) that is considerate of and consistent with their cultural beliefs.
Address	2155 Analysis Dr.
Location	Bozeman , Montana
Coordinates	45.66913663109373, -111.06634797151824
Website	https://www.montana.edu/cairhe/

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The Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity (CAIRHE) is an official state of Montana research center based at Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman, Montana. The center was founded in 2014 with the mission "to reduce significant health disparities in Native and rural communities through community-based participatory research (CBPR) that is considerate of and consistent with their cultural beliefs."

CAIRHE’s investigators pursue health equity research on topics that have included mental health, workplace trauma and occupational health, health care access, maternal health, sleep health, sexual and reproductive health, nutrition and food security, addiction and resilience, environmental health, oral health, COVID-19, and more. The center provides faculty with mentoring, professional development, and funding for research and pilot projects designed to increase success rates in achieving external grant support from major grant-funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. CAIRHE also supports its faculty and other researchers through two research cores: the Montana IDeA Community Engagement Core and the Translational Biomarkers Core.

History

CAIRHE was founded on September 15, 2014. The center was orignally known as the Center for Health Equity in Rural Montana but was renamed the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity in January 2016. Allen Harmsen, Ph.D. served as the founding principal investigator from 2014 through 2015. In January 2016, Alexandra Adams, M.D., Ph.D., became the director and principal investigator of CAIRHE and currently holds the position. The center was established with a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. In September 2016, CAIRHE was named a Montana research center by the Montana University System Board of Regents.

Programs

Research Programs

Since its inception as a research center, CAIRHE has suppored a variety of multiyear research projects led by MSU faculty and driven by the center's health equity mission. CAIRHE investigators specialize in multiple disciplines, with faculty based in departments and colleges across the university, including the Department of Psychology; Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Department of Health and Human Development; Department of Education; Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering; Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences; the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing; and the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship.

Past and present research projects have included:

• A Trauma-Informed Intervention for Positive Youth Development and Teacher Wellness in Rural Montana
• A Native Path to Courage
• Assessing Sleep in Blackfeet Families with K-3rd Grade Children
• Modeling Rural Perinatal Health Outcomes and Service Systems to Improve Health Equity
• Development and Pilot Test of Indigenist Relapse Prevention for American Indians
• The UnProcessed Pantry Project (UP3): A Novel Approach to Improving Dietary Quality for Low-Income Adults Served by Rural Food Pantries
• Somatic Mindfulness Training for a Healthy Workforce
• The Fort Peck Sexual Health Project
• Increasing Environmental Health Literacy in a Native American Community (or "Guardians of the Living Water")
• Increasing Access to Oral Health Care: Evaluating the Outcomes of a Community Health Specialist Program

Pilot Projects

In addition to CAIRHE's work on a range of research projects, the center has also supported a range of smaller pilot projects that help investigators collect preliminary data and prepare larger grant proposals for the years ahead. Pilot projects receive support for a maximum of two years.

Since 2014, CAIRHE pilot projects have examined a wide range of health and equity research topics that have included:

• Rural reproductive healthcare
• Attitudes and behaviors surrounding traditional foods
• Mental health support
• Sleep health disparities and socioecological risk factors
• Osteoarthritis in agricultural workers
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy implementation in schools
• Impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on age-related inflammation
• Trauma, daily stress, sleep, and blood pressure in American Indian adults
• Secondary trauma among victim service providers
• Rural health center efficiency, access, and outcomes
• Substance use and driving among rural young adults
• Maternal mental health
• Prisoner reentry and recidivism in Montana

Protecting Our Community Study

In 2020 the center was awarded a $1.8 million two-year grant from the NIH to research COVID-19 testing strategies in underserved populations in both Montana and Washington. The grant was part of the NIH's $1.4 billion Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, which was was created in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic to address testing disparities in the United States. A component targeting underserved populations known as RADx-UP funded community-engaged projects, including CAIRHE's, that worked alongside communities threatened most by the pandemic.

The study, “Protecting Our Community: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial of Home-Based COVID-19 Testing with Native American and Latino Communities," was led by CAIRHE and principal investigator Alexandra Adams. Partners in the study included the University of Washington’s School of Medicine and Institute of Translational Health Sciences; the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle; and Salish Kootenai College and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.

Promoting Indigenous Research Leadership (PIRL)

Since 2019, CAIRHE has sponsored Promoting Indigenous Research Leadership (PIRL), an annual three-day workshop that supports the public health research careers of Indigenous and other early-career faculty who work with Indigenous communities. The workshop hosts faculty investigators from across the United States for enriching career development presentations and intensive mentoring. The 2019 and 2021 workshops were held in Bozeman, Montana, and the 2022 event was held in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in partnership with the Indigenous Trauma and Resilience Research Center at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The 2023 workshop will be held in Tempe, Arizona, in collaboration with partners at Arizona State University.

Cores

CAIRHE's core facilities provide researchers with access to advanced technology and instrumentation, as well as training and assistance in community-engaged research.

Translational Biomarkers Core

The Translational Biomarkers Core allows researchers to assess relevant biomarkers associated with public and rural health research. Biomarkers assessed include: inflammation, oxidative stress, psychological stress, hormones, metabolic disease, and nutrition analytes. The laboratory is located on the MSU campus in Bozeman and provides faculty with access to research facilities, instrumentation, biomarker analysis, expert consultation, and relevant training.

The Translational Biomarkers Core Laboratory has a variety of advanced instrumentation that greatly enhances CAIRHE's research and allows investigators at MSU and throughout the Mountain West region to conduct extensive public health studies. Translational Biomarkers Core instrumentation includes:

• Bio-Rad Bio-Plex 200 System
• Eppendorf MasterCycler Nexus Gradient ThermoCycler
• Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer
• SpectraMax iD3 Multi-Mode Microplate Reader
• Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 5 Real-Time PCR System
• Labconco FreeZone 2.5 Liter BenchTop Freeze Dry System
• Fisherbrand IsoTemp UltraLow Temperature Freezer
• Tecan HydroFlex Plate Washer
• Buchi Evaporation System
• Miltenyi QuadroMacs Separator and MultiStand, gentleMACS Dissociator
• ESCO CelCulture CO2 Incubator
• OrganoMotion N-Evap 11155 (12-position)
• Eppendorf 5424 R Microcentrifuge
• Fisher 850 Homogenizer
• Eppendorf Centrifuge 5810R
• Bio-Rad Trans-Blot Turbo Transfer System
• Bio-Rad Criterion Cell
• Fisherbrand Iso Temp Oven

Montana IDeA Community Engagement Core

CAIRHE's Montana IDeA Community Engagement Core aids faculty in building community-investigator partnerships across the state of Montana. The core also provides effective training to the center's investigators and other faculty at the university. CAIRHE shares operation of the core with the Montana INBRE program at MSU. Both CAIRHE and Montana INBRE are supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) initiative at the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Similar to many of CAIRHE's other initiatives, the core follows a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework. Team members of the core work alongside public health professionals, medical professionals, epidemiologists, lab scientists, community and tribal leaders, information systems experts, social scientists, behavioral health professionals, engineers, and others to help investigators address health disparities through community engagement.

See Also

• Montana State University

External Links

• Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity (CAIRHE)
• Center for American Indian Rural Health Equity (CAIRHE) Wikidata item