Twelve Oklahoma high school and college students and four high school science teachers have been named as 1999 summer scholars by the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
As Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars, the 12 students will spend eight weeks in June and July working in various laboratories throughout the Foundation. The 1999 Fleming Scholars, their hometowns, current schools and proctor/program assignments include:
- Laura Kay Brown, Altus,
University of Oklahoma,
(Dr. Carol Webb, Immunobiology and Cancer Research Program) - Lisa LeAnn Gourley, Moore,
Moore High School,
(Dr. Jacques Ermolieff, Protein Studies Research Program) - Traci Lynn Hartmann, Edmond,
Edmond North High School,
(Dr. Ute Hochgeschwender, Developmental Biology Research Program) - Christopher D. Hayes, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma Baptist University,
(Dr. Tim Mather, Cardiovascular Biology Research Program) - Jessica Dawn Howard, Duncan,
Marlow High School,
(Dr. Carl Manion, Clinical Pharmacology Research Program) - Crystal Ann Lohmann, Alva,
Alva High School,
(Dr. Deborah Stearns-Kurosawa, Cardiovascular Biology Research Program) - Christopher Heath May, Clinton,
University of Oklahoma,
(Dr. John Harley, Arthritis and Immunology Research Program) - Cheava Lynn Nicholson, Watonga,
Watonga High School,
(Dr. Allen Edmundson, Crystallography Research Program) - Trudy Gale Oliver, Elgin,
Oklahoma Baptist University,
(Dr. Yashige Kotake, Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program) - Urvi Mukesh Parekh, Oklahoma City,
Casady School,
(Dr. Brian Sauer, Developmental Biology Research Program) - Rebecca Chiori Somers, Tulsa,
Booker T. Washington High School,
(Dr. Guoying Bing, Free Radical Biology and Aging Research Program) - Patricia Yvette Thomas, Oklahoma City,
Classen School of Advanced Studies,
(Dr. Hal Scofield, Arthritis and Immunology Research Program)
The four teachers selected as Foundation Scholars will study as a group in the Molecular and Cell Biology Research Program in the laboratory of Dr. Philip Silverman. The 1999 Foundation Scholars, their hometowns and schools include:
- Stephanie Anne Bailey, Choctaw,
Midwest City High School - Janet Lee Clemons, Smithville,
Smithville High School - Debra Anne Crawford, Marlow,
Lawton High School - Marla Kay Hewitt, Jennings,
Yale Public School
The Fleming Scholar Program was established in 1956. Since that time, more than 300 gifted Oklahoma students have received these coveted scholarships. This was the first program of its kind, and it has served as a model for similar programs nationwide. Each year, as many as 250 applicants vie for the scholar positions.
Thirty-two high school science teachers from throughout the state have received Foundation Scholarships since the program began in 1988. Teachers receiving the scholarships return to their classrooms with personal computers, which link them and their students directly to scientists as the Oklahoma City-based Foundation. The computers also provide access to the Internet and communication with other scholars across the state.
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to the search for better treatments and cures for human disease. OMRF has earned recognition for its research in heart disease, diabetes, cancer, AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, lupus and others.
