Shelley Lusetti, New Mexico State University professor and department head of chemistry and biochemistry, is the principal investigator of the New Mexico IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (NM-INBRE). This year, Lusetti was elected vice president of the National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators (NAIPI).

NM-INBRE’s legacy at NMSU began in 2001. Its mission is focused in three areas: building access to infrastructure at New Mexico universities; building up individual faculties’ research programs; and training students. Lusetti has been its principal investigator for the last 10 years. In 2024, NM-INBRE received a five-year, $19.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Working with 10 colleges statewide plus the National Center for Genome Resources and two pueblos, Lusetti has been expanding the organization’s impact.