The Office of Research and Economic Development is sponsoring an internal competition to identify the next team that will develop an institutional proposal for submission to the National Institutes of Health’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program.
NIH allows only one application per institution per fiscal year. the university expects to have the opportunity to submit a new Phase 1 COBRE grant application during January 2019. Faculty interested in developing a new COBRE proposal must submit an expression of interest by Jan. 25, 2017, as well as an internal pre-proposal by March 8.
By April, ORED will select the next center concept to be developed into a full proposal and submitted to NIH. Depending on the quality of internal proposals, one team may receive seed grant funding of up to $100,000 to refine and develop the university’s next COBRE concept.
The COBRE program is designed to strengthen an institution’s biomedical research infrastructure by establishing an interdisciplinary, and sometimes multi-institutional, center and enhancing the ability of early-career investigators to secure independent external research funding. This program currently funds the university’s Nebraska Center for Virology, Redox Biology Center, Nebraska Center for the Prevention of Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules and Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication.
COBRE applications must have a thematic scientific focus supported by basic, clinical and/or translational research approaches, including community engagement and outreach research. Proposed centers must be led by an established biomedical or behavioral investigator who has: 1) an active research laboratory, 2) a record of peer-reviewed funding related to the proposed center’s scientific focus, and 3) a history of leadership and mentoring. Additional information is available on the NIH website and in the Phase I COBRE program announcement (PAR-16-415).
For more information regarding the internal competition, contact Nathan Meier, assistant vice chancellor for research, 402-472-3902.
