(OKLAHOMA CITY) — The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation today announced it had received a $5 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The award will begin the construction of a new center at OMRF, which will be named the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Genetics Research.
“We are thrilled by the grant awarded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. This generous gift will help OMRF construct its newest center devoted to the study of genetics, which is the newest frontier in biomedical research,” said OMRF president J. Donald Capra, M.D. “By developing a clearer understanding of DNA, we will acquire a better understanding of human disease and the factors involved in the regulation of gene expression.”
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Mr. Reynolds was the founder and principal owner of the Donrey Media Group, which he started in 1940 with the purchase of the Okmulgee Daily (OK) Times and the Southwest (AR) Times Record.
At the time of Mr. Reynolds’ death in 1993, his organization had grown to include 52 daily newspapers, 10 outdoor advertising companies, five cable television companies and one television station. The sale of the Donrey Media Group in 1993 provided for the Foundation’s endowment, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States. It is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chartered in 1946, OMRF is a private, non-profit biomedical research institution which employs over 400 scientists, physicians, technicians, and administrative and support personnel, including Oklahoma’s only two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. OMRF focuses on several critical areas of research: Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, lupus and other autoimmune diseases, stroke, AIDS, children’s diseases and genetic disorders.
