About Us
Montana is one of the most rural states in the country, and rural populations suffer disproportionately from several adverse health outcomes and risk factors. The Center for Population Health Research (CPHR) was borne from a need to foster interdisciplinary approaches to inform, develop and test strategies for improving health across the lifespan in these communities. In 2019 we were designated an official state research Center by the Montana Board of Regents. Later that year, we were funded as an NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE). The goal of CoBRE Centers is to support researchers with funding, mentorship and research support to propel them to successful extramurally funded research careers. CPHR-supported investigators pursue varied lines of population health inquiry with approaches ranging from primary data collection from patients and other key stakeholders to curated electronic health records to experimental trials of patient- and community-adapted interventions. Collectively, our team has received dozens of research awards from NIH, NSF, and other funders, bringing over $15M in grant funding to Montana. In 2025 we received Phase II CoBRE funding to continue our mission of supporting promising investigators that are developing and testing strategies for improving health across the lifespan in Montana and elsewhere. We invite you to explore our Funding Opportunities as well as the essential research support services offered through the CPHR Data and Modeling Core and the CPHR Intervention Support Core.
The Center for Population Health Research (CPHR) is supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, Award Number P20GM130418
