The University of Nevada School of Medicine is the lead biomedical research institution in Nevada based on the amount of NIH funding for research in its basic science departments. It is also the host institution of the NV INBRE and two of the University of Nevada Reno’s three COBRE projects. The NV INBRE has developed several initiatives fostering clinical research including research and mentoring support for clinical faculty, and for community-engaged projects, at both the University of Nevada Reno and UNLV. UNSOM was founded as a 2-year institution in 1969 with the creation of basic science departments on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. It became a 4-year institution in 1977. Facilities for clinical education for medical students, residents, and fellows opened in the early 1980s in Las Vegas, the major population center in the state. Thus, the basic science and clinical departments of the School of Medicine have developed independently separated by 450 miles. The basic science departments have developed high quality biomedical research programs supported by 41 of the 51 NIH R-type awards in Nevada including 18 R01s, 1 MERIT award, Nevada’s only program project grant, 2 COBRE awards, pre- and postdoctoral fellowships, and several exploratory grants. In contrast, the clinical departments have focused on the delivery of patient care and medical education, with relatively little research activity with no NIH R-type funding. UNSOM is progressing along a path to grow clinical translational research as evidenced by the recent openings of a $60M Center for Molecular Medicine and the Pennington Health Sciences Building on the Reno campus, forming a hub of medical and nursing student activities that include basic, translational, and clinical research activities, and that focus on training teams of care providers.