Oklahoma Center for Microbiome Research
"host-microbe interactions to ecosystems"
The Oklahoma Center for Microbiome Research (OCMR) is one of four Tier 1 Research Initiatives, which are strategic priorities for OSU. The OCMR is funded by an NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) with a thematic, multidisciplinary focus on microbiome science. This Center of Excellence was designed to foster the careers of up-and-coming scientists in the microbiome field. The OCMR provides the intellectual environment necessary to support five Research Project Leaders through a mentoring system and enhanced research infrastructure. The OCMR is one of only three microbiome-focused COBRE grants awarded nationwide and is the first to provide cutting-edge anaerobic microbiology services. The Anaerobic Microbiology Core is the first facility in Oklahoma to provide customized culturomics services, which is imperative for this COBRE and the wider Oklahoma research community. Enhanced anaerobic microbiology infrastructure is critical for the success of the proposed Research Projects. The OSU Division for Research has made substantial institutional commitments to this Phase I COBRE. These investments include new faculty lines, startup packages, research space, pilot projects, and the Anaerobic Microbiology Core. The Projects associated with the OCMR promise to generate new knowledge of microbiome structure and function that lay the foundation for treatments to maintain and restore microbiome health. The OCMR is located at Oklahoma State University, a Carnegie Research 1 institution, in primary partnership with the OSU Center for Health Sciences, an academic health center that includes the College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, and the COM Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, OK. The OCMR provides funding, Research Core support, and mentoring to Research Project Leaders to facilitate their independence.
About Us
Oklahoma State University is a land grant institution. The mission of land-grant schools is to combine classical studies with teaching of agriculture, science and engineering. One Health is an excellent example of land-grant principals in action. Microbiome research is an essential component of OSU's One Health mission. There is tremendous potential in microbiome research to revolutionize the way we promote health, practice agriculture, and deal with ecological and environmental issues. Specific examples include:
- Deciphering ecological principles on which microbiome communities are established to learn how to manipulate the microbiome to support healthy function;
- Determining how the healthy microbiome acts as a barrier to infection and how pathogens occasionally overcome this barrier;
- Discovering secondary metabolites that promote a healthy microbiota while inhibiting invasion by pathogens;
- Exploring the gut-brain-axis to determine how the microbiome affects behavior and cognition;
- Developing model systems for studies of pathogens that promote oral cancers;
- Learning how to engineer the host virome to manipulate microbiome community composition;
- Using pre- and probiotics to treat diseases caused by microbiome dysfunction, such as gastroenteritis, irritable bowel syndromes, obesity, systemi inflammation, heart disease, or autoimmune disorders;
- Examining the benefits of health promoting nutrients mediated by the gut microbiome;
- Developing and testing growth-promoting animal feed that eliminates the need for antibiotics;
- Improving agricultural practices based on understanding relationships between plants, their associated microbiomes, and soil systems to improve crop production;
- Investigating “living” buildings that promote healthy immune system development or reduce the spread of viruses and allergens;
- Advancing high-efficiency biological systems for the conversion of plant biomass to biofuels and bioproducts, and bioreactors that convert waste to energy or new chemicals;
- Expanding use of in silico tracking tools for invasive species based on nucleic acid and computational technology; and
- Generating predictive models of ecosystem-scale processes mediated by microbiomes that could be used to detect disease or stress within ecosystems.
These are all areas in which OSU has interdisciplinary strength and critical capabilities, including specialized facilities. Many other national programs at larger institutions focus more narrowly, particularly on human health. The potential at OSU is to develop research initiatives at the nexus of health, food, energy, water, and materials and manufacturing. The goal is to foster well-supported infrastructure for competitive research activity in Microbiome Research through inter- and intra-institutional relationships, excellence in student training, the use of cutting-edge technology platforms, and engagement of the existing OSU research community.