
Begun in 2000, the Oklahoma COBRE “Science in a Culture of Mentoring” was a pivotal resource in transforming the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation into an institution committed to the mentoring and development of junior investigators to productive scientific careers. Through its support of junior investigators, pilot projects, and an evolving set of core facilities, this resource provided the infrastructure to help launch independent research careers and support the subsequent funding of numerous multi-investigator grants.
The Science in a Culture of Mentoring COBRE was supported by Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a part of the National Institutes of Health, under grant numbers P20RR015577 and P30GM103510. The IDeA program builds research capacities across the US by supporting basic, clinical and translational research; faculty development; and infrastructure improvements in states that historically have had low levels of NIH funding. COBRE programs support multidisciplinary centers that increase and strengthen institutional biomedical research.