Research Centers

We are very 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, from other departments on campus and even from other institutions to address important issues. For more information on each of these centers please follow the provided links.

Center for Antibiotic Discovery and Resistance

Center for Bioanalysis

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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Center for Bioanalysis

The Center for Bioanalysis (CBA) was established at the University of Oklahoma in 2012. Under the direction of Professor Shaorong Liu, CBA develops the cutting-edge protein and small molecule-oriented analytical methods and provides novel and conventional analysis platforms allowing for understanding and solving important issues in the biosciences.

Bioanalysis plays a critical role in life science research. Advanced bioanalytical methods and tools have facilitated and accelerated the understanding of life processes, evolution of diseases, diagnosis of diseases, improvement of therapies, development of drugs, etc. In CBA, we invent and optimize novel methods toward analyzing biological samples at the tissue, single cell and sub-cellular-organelle levels. Both conventional and cutting-edge bioanalysis methods that CBA supports have numerous applications especially in cancer, bioenergy and biotechnology research. Toward sustaining its mission, CBA has a strong interest in leading the training in the development and application of bioanalysis methods at all levels of education and in fostering the communication and collaboration among interested scientists from the region and across the globe. Students and postdoctoral researchers trained in CBA have developed their careers primarily in biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Currently, CBA has Mass Spectrometry facilities (with five mass spectrometers, UPLC-MS, GC-MS, etc.) for sensitive detection and accurate molecular identification, and Microfabrication Facilities (with photomask aligner, wetbench, spin-rinse drier, photoresist spin coater, profilometer, dicing saw, lapping machine, bonding oven, etc.) for micro- and nano-fluidic device fabrication. CBA also has laboratories for cell culture and processing, and instruments for conventional and high-throughput DNA, protein and small molecule analysis. CBA members and affiliates are from both academia and industry within and around the state of Oklahoma, and their research projects are generally interdisciplinary in nature.

Center of Bioanalysis summary (png)

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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. The purpose of INPART is to find creative solutions that harness the power of natural products chemistry for generating new medicines that will improve human health and wellbeing. Using a combination of leading-edge technologies, INPART mines new natural products from a variety of 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 many 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)

The NIH-funded COBRE, under the direction of Professor Ann West, comprises an active team of researchers who use the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules to shed light on their physiological functions. The “work horses” 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 important relationship between structure and biological activity. The research has direct relevance to human diseases and conditions associated with aging, cancer, host-pathogen interactions, bacterial infections and immunity. The COBRE is a multidisciplinary enterprise that is based on the research interests and expertise of center participants, and includes biochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, virology, parasitology, immunology, cell biology, enzymology, bacteriology, and computational biophysics.

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