Center of Biomedical Research Excellence National Institutes of Health Center for Research Resources The objectives of COBRE funding are to augment and strengthen an institution’s biomedical research capacity and to develop a multidisciplinary research center with a thematic science focus. COBRE funding also enables an institution to develop resources needed to conduct state-of-the-art biomedical research, with the ultimate goal of preparing investigators to successfully compete for other NIH research grants. An essential element of a COBRE grant application is to identify a “magnet” investigator to serve as the principal investigator for the COBRE. This investigator must be an established NIH-funded biomedical researcher; have an active research laboratory; possess relevant peer-reviewed, funded research; show institutional commitment; and be able to mentor junior investigators who will propose and conduct pilot research projects. The junior investigators’ research projects must be thematic and cut across the full spectrum of basic and clinical research. This research may include cellular and molecular biology, biophysics and biotechnology, genetics and developmental biology, pharmacology, and other fields of biomedical research. COBRE funding is intended to support investigators from several different disciplines. In some instances, COBRE support also will help an institution develop a new research center to study a specific disease or will augment the research capacity of an existing center. Eligibility for COBRE funding is limited to those states that attained a success rate of less than 20 percent in competing for NIH grants or received less than $70 million on average in NIH support from 1995 to 1999. Based on these two criteria, the following are currently eligible: • Alaska • Arkansas • Delaware • Hawaii • Idaho • Kansas • Kentucky* • Louisiana • Maine • Mississippi • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • North Dakota • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • West Virginia • Wyoming • Puerto Rico *Kentucky has three COBRE centers: Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center-University of Louisville Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Women's Health-University of Kentucky Birth Defects Center-University of Louisville (Compiled from NIH website)