MT-COBRE

The Molecular Targets Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (MT-COBRE) is an NIH/NIGMS grant at the Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, that successfully supported the early career of fourteen junior faculty members during its Phase I (2003-2008) and Phase II (2008-2013) funding periods. The current grant (2013-2018), a Phase III P30, reflects the maturation of the Molecular Targets Program and its faculty. The overall goal of this Phase III grant is to ensure that the novel targets and compounds that have been and continue to be identified by MT-COBRE faculty are translated to pivotal human clinical trials.

Several strengths have enhanced the success of this program including: 1) Stability of program leadership; 2) Successful retention of all fourteen faculty members; 3) Institutional support for the program totaling over $30 M; and 4) Creation of a University of Louisville-owned company dedicated to translating important discoveries of MT-COBRE investigators.

The ability of MT-COBRE faculty to test their novel compounds in humans distinguishes this program from similar programs at other institutions. To this end, the MT-COBRE has supported the development of a unique translational research infrastructure, which has enabled the characterization of more than 30 novel targets. The Phase III grant supports four closely integrated core facilities which, in turn, support this goal: 1) Microarray/Genomics Core; 2) NMR Core; 3) Molecular Modeling Core; and 4) Animal Model Core. Additionally, the Brown Cancer Center has created complementary research cores that are available to MT-Program members including the Biostatistics Core, Clinical Trials Office, Biophysical Cancer Core, and the Cell Sorting and Flow Cytometry Core.

The MT-COBRE administration continues to provide intensive support for development of the fourteen faculty members (13 in the BCC; 1 in the Department of Chemistry), many of whom have assumed leadership roles within the Cancer Center and University, and the four core facilities mentioned above. The robust translational research infrastructure at the Brown Cancer Center and University of Louisville ensure the success and sustainability of this unique program.

Phase I (2003-2008)
Donald M. Miller, M.D., Ph.D. and John W. Eaton, Ph.D., co-PIs

Projects

Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D. – Project 1 [09/01/03 – 06/30/06]

- This project also supported Sucheta Telang, M.B.B.S.

Robert A. Mitchell, Ph.D. – Project 2 [09/01/03 – 06/30/05]

Binks Wattenberg, Ph.D. – Project 3 [09/01/03 – 07/11/05]

Pawel Kozlowski, Ph.D. – Project 4 [09/01/03 – 01/24/05]

Hong Ye, Ph.D. – Project 5 [09/01/03 – 06/30/07]

Chi Li, Ph.D. – Project 6 [02/01/06 – 06/30/10 (into Phase II)]

Geoffrey J. Clark, Ph.D. – Project 7 [07/01/06 - 06/30/10 (into Phase II)]

Qiutang Li, Ph.D. – Project 8 [10/01/06 – 06/30/10 (into Phase II)]

Albert R. Cunningham, Ph.D. – Project 9 [04/01/07 – 06/30/13 (through end of Phase II)]