Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases

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Overall Project Summary This CoBRE Phase III application seeks support to develop sustainable research facilities to further enhance a nationally competitive multi-institutional biomedical research center—the Oklahoma Center for Respiratory and Infectious Diseases (OCRID). Established in 2013 through the Phase I CoBRE grant and sustained in 2018 through the Phase II CoBRE grant, OCRID has become a focal point for expanding respiratory infectious disease research in Oklahoma. Based at Oklahoma State University (OSU), OCRID investigators come from major research institutions across the state of Oklahoma, including 9 colleges at OSU and the University of Oklahoma, as well as an independent research institute, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. As the first CoBRE grants ever received by OSU, the Phase I and Phase II awards have had a transformative effect on the landscape of respiratory infectious disease research in Oklahoma. OCRID engages in critical research on respiratory infectious diseases with a focus on influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, respiratory bacterial and fungal infections, and now COVID-19. The interdisciplinary projects in OCRID cover therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, disease pathogenesis, nutrition, and bioengineering. Building on the success of the Phase I and Phase II awards, the overall objective of this Phase III CoBRE application is to further sustain a research center of excellence in the field of respiratory infectious diseases through the continued development of research facilities in a collaborative environment. Aim 1 will continue to develop research core facilities with cutting-edge technologies and transform them into sustainable institutional core facilities. We will continue to provide core expertise and services to CoBRE projects and other investigators, modernize the established cores, develop state-of-the-art new technologies to meet the needs of the center investigators, and broaden core services. A strategic plan to complete the transition of these core facilities into self-sustained institutional research facilities includes cost recovery, institutional support, securing equipment, resource and technology and collaborative grants, industry partners and philanthropy. Aim 2 will further enhance the research environment to sustain impactful research via a pilot projects program and interinstitutional collaborations. We will continue to expand the critical mass of multidisciplinary investigators in the thematic area of respiratory infectious diseases by nurturing junior investigators and redirecting established investigators into respiratory infectious disease research via a pilot projects program and hiring new tenure-track faculty members whose research is within the focus of the Center. We will also continue to provide research and career development activities and promote interinstitutional collaborations in Oklahoma via a research seminar series, work-in- progress and journal club meetings, an annual respiratory and infectious disease research symposium and the development of multi-investigator grant applications.