The primary mission of the Developmental Research Project Program Core (the Research Core) is to solicit and award multidisciplinary developmental research project funding to investigators at all of the RI-INBRE participating institutions. The primary goal of the Research Core is to support the research career development of junior investigators at the participating institutions. The Research Core supports a broad portfolio of research funding within the themes of Cancer, Environmental Health Sciences, and Neuroscience. Mentoring is a key component of the RI-INBRE program: Junior investigators are required to select a mentor with complementary research expertise, ideally from the Greater New England area. Mentors will provide career development guidance and assistance with the preparation of research grant applications and manuscripts.

The Research Core offers several different funding mechanisms for faculty.