For the past decade, the Oklahoma COBRE “Interdisciplinary research in vascular biology” has expanded cutting-edge research in cardiovascular biology by recruiting and mentoring outstanding junior investigators and by supporting them with state-of-the-art core facilities. The COBRE has provided the infrastructure for launching the independent research careers of the next generation of cardiovascular scientists in Oklahoma, who are now successfully competing for individual and multi-investigator grants from NIH and other national agencies. The COBRE received ten years of Phase I and II funding from NCRR (P20 RR18758) and NIGMS (P20 GM103441) and was recently awarded a final five-year Phase III grant from NIGMS (P30GM114731).

The goals of our COBRE in Phase III are to:

• Transition our research cores to sustainable excellence
• Transition our research environment to internationally recognized stature through pilot funding and continued mentoring