Research Centers

We are fortunate to have four research centers housed in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma. These centers bring together teams of researchers from our department, other departments on campus, and even other institutions to address important issues. For more information on these centers, please follow the provided links.

Center for Antibiotic Discovery and Resistance

Institute for Natural Products and Research Technologies (INPART)

Oklahoma Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Structural Biology (COBRE)

Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center (SLSRC)

Center for Antibiotic Discovery and Resistance

The Center for Antibiotic Discovery and Resistance studies mechanisms of drug resistance in bacteria and develops new approaches and antibiotics effective against drug resistant pathogens.

Center for Antibiotic Discovery
and Resistance Website

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Institute for Natural Products and Research Technologies (INPART)

Institute for Natural Products Applications and Research Technologies (INPART) members

In just the few years since its formation, the Institute for Natural Products Applications and Research Technologies (INPART) at the University of Oklahoma has established itself as one of the largest teams of researchers in the central United States that is dedicated to the development and understanding of natural product based medicines. INPART functions as an alliance of collaborating scientists focused on the innovative use of secondary metabolites to generate new products for improving the human condition. INPART aims to find creative solutions that harness the power of natural product chemistry to generate new medicines that will improve human health and well-being. Using a combination of leading-edge technologies, INPART mines new natural products from various sources and evaluates these compounds for their therapeutic applications.

With researchers focused on the wide variety of essential roles that natural products play in the drug development pipeline (e.g., total organic synthesis of lead compounds, medicinal chemistry optimization, drug target identification, biomolecular protein-small molecule binding, and natural products biosynthesis), INPART scientists are working toward the creation of new therapeutic agents that address unmet medical needs. Research at INPART is an inclusive process that welcomes researchers from diverse fields to participate. INPART is committed to providing an enabling environment that elevates the scientific potential of all its members.

INPART Summary (png)

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Oklahoma Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Structural Biology (COBRE)

Under Professor Ann West's direction, the NIH-funded COBRE comprises an active team of researchers who use the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules to shed light on their physiological functions. The “workhorses” of a cell are an immense collection of macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, that are designed for specific functions to elicit appropriate physiological responses. To correctly perform their unique functions, these macromolecules must fold properly into a three-dimensional structure capable of interacting with their natural targets, such as enzyme substrates and cofactors, as well as with small molecule drugs.

Our COBRE researchers partner with colleagues in the OU Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology and the OU Health Sciences Center. The central theme is focused on X-ray crystallographic and computational approaches to understand the critical relationship between structure and biological activity. The research directly relates to human diseases and conditions associated with aging, cancer, host-pathogen interactions, bacterial infections,/./ and immunity. The COBRE is a multidisciplinary enterprise based on center participants' research interests and expertise. It includes biochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, virology, parasitology, immunology, cell biology, enzymology, bacteriology, and computational biophysics.

Student training: In addition to being trained in their specific research program area, students in the COBRE research programs will gain hands-on training and expertise in the crystallization of biological macromolecules and in structure solutions using X-ray crystallography. Career options include employment in drug development companies, academia, and national laboratories.

COBRE Summary (png)

COBRE Website

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Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center

Our research activities are housed in our spectacular 160,000-square-foot Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center (SLSRC) on the research campus located south of OU's main campus. Since the summer of 2010, these research facilities house our faculty offices, faculty-led research labs, research centers, research support facilities and departmental administration offices. The Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center was created with an eye toward further growth.

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