The Center for Biomarker Research (CBR) at Keck Graduate Institute is dedicated to education and applied research activities that expand knowledge and development of biomarkers as a tool for diagnostics, drug development and the practice of medicine in the 21st century.



Biomarkers are molecular indicators used to measure a range of physiological conditions. They hold great promise in the fight against disease and the development of personalized medicine because they reveal the physiological state of an individual. Biomarkers can be used to diagnose disease, monitor disease progression and response to therapy, and are targets for development of new drugs.



Collaborating with academic, corporate and not-for-profit partners, CBR seeks to spur innovation in approaches to the discovery and commercialization of new biomarkers that address unmet diagnostic needs. CBR is investigating new biomarkers for rare and other diseases that are currently difficult to diagnose with existing in vitro diagnostic tests. The Center utilizes flow cytometry to investigate cellular biomarkers, and in the future will expand its applied research efforts to genomic and proteomic biomarkers as well.

By partnering with the government agencies, foundations and industry partners, the Center will explore biomarkers in rare disease populations. These activities will facilitate biomarker discovery and provide a means of classifying and stratifying disease populations. From this research, CBR staff will be creating a database of rare disease biomarkers which will be accessible to academic and corporate communities for their own research.

As of April 2009, the Center will have access to a new analytical laboratory that Beckman Coulter Inc. is relocating to the KGI campus. The company will educate KGI students, faculty and staff on use of the lab's equipment and in the execution of good laboratory practices (GLP) that meet the standards of the Food and Drug Administration.

CBR in turn will educate Master of Bioscience students at KGI and other academic institutions in the Claremont College Consortium in the development of diagnostic tools from biomarkers discovery. The exposure to scientific discovery in a GLP setting gives students a unique experience that provides excellent preparation for careers in industry. Through this work, students will gain valuable hands-on experience in quality assurance, assay validation and regulatory compliance - areas that are not commonly addressed in an academic setting.

The Center is led by Director Jim Osborne, PhD, Industry Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at KGI. Osborne is also Corporate Vice President of Advanced Technology for Beckman Coulter, Inc. He can be reached at (909) 607-9476, or by email.

KGI Receives $150K Grant from Beckman Coulter Foundation for New Biomarker Center
Published November 7, 2008

KGI Professor Jim Osborne Appointed Full-Time Member of Faculty
Published July 20, 2009