The NationalCenter for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the resources and training they need to understand, detect, treat and prevent a wide range of diseases. NCRR supports all aspects of translational and clinical research, connecting researchers, patients and communities across the nation. For more information, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov.

NCRR’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) support thematic multidisciplinary centers that augment and strengthen institutional biomedical research capacity by expanding and developing biomedical faculty research capability and enhancing research infrastructure, including the establishment of core facilities needed to carry out the objectives of a multidisciplinary, collaborative program.

COBREs are expected to grow through the promotion of collaborative interactive efforts among researchers with complementary backgrounds, skills, and expertise; and to compete independently for external peer-reviewed center or program project grant support. In some instances, COBRE support will facilitate the development of new disease-specific research centers or augment the capability of existing centers. COBRE is a part of the Institutional Development Award program.

The project described was supported by grant number P20RR018766 from the National Center of Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily report the official view of NCRR or NIH.