Initial funding to create the Center for Bioenvironmental Research was awarded to Tulane and its university research partner, Xavier, in 1989 by the Department of Defense. Additional funding for the CBR is provided by participating universities, federal and private grants and contributions, and industry. With these funds the CBR is able to acquire and maintain equipment and facilities, as well as to recruit established scientists in the field. The CBR promotes the use of science in the formulation of public policy and offers expert communication about environmental health risks and their management. To achieve these goals, the CBR is establishing an active partnership with business, government, and interested members of the public in order to make the CBR’s research responsive to the needs of the entire community. The CBR is particularly concerned with resolving environmental issues facing Louisiana and the Gulf South region.

The CBR is comprised of researchers in fields ranging from Anatomy to Molecular Biology, from Ecology to Physical Chemistry, and from Chemical Engineering to Computer Science. With researchers in over twenty-five disciplines, the CBR is the quintessential interdisciplinary program.

The trans-university and trans-school capabilities of the CBR provide the ability to form, disperse, and re-form research teams of extraordinary capability and power. In this way, the CBR represents an approach to research and teaching that exceeds and transcends that of any single school, or single department. The CBR provides a model for the interdisciplinary university of the future.