On Saturday, December 21, the Bachelor’s Club of Oklahoma City will hold its 57th annual Christmas Ball. All charitable proceeds from the black-tie event, which will take place at 8:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Oklahoma City Marriott, will benefit Alzheimer’s research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
“We at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation are extremely grateful that the Bachelor’s Club has chosen to support Alzheimer’s research with this generous gift,” said OMRF vice president for development Art Cotton.
Bachelor’s Club president Drew Wendelken explained that he has a very personal reason for designating Alzheimer’s research as the beneficiary of this year’s Christmas Ball. “I had a grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s, so I have been particularly aware of this disease for many years. Because OMRF is world-renowned for its Alzheimer’s research, I thought this would be a great opportunity to help fight this disease that affects so many.”
OMRF researchers are studying new and innovative approaches to treating Alzheimer’s disease, which affects one in ten people over 65 years old in this country and almost half of the U.S. population over the age of 85.
In 2000, a group of OMRF scientists led by Dr. Jordan Tang made headlines when they identified the enzyme believed to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease and created an inhibitor to stop it. Tang and his team have now mapped out the three-dimensional structure both of the enzyme and the inhibitor, breakthroughs they hope will lead to the creation of drugs to control Alzheimer’s disease.
“With the help of organizations like the Bachelor’s Club, we hope one day to find a way to stop this debilitating and ultimately deadly disease,” said OMRF president, Dr. J. Donald Capra.
This is the second consecutive year that Bachelor’s Club has chosen to support OMRF researchers with its Christmas Ball. Last year, the Bachelor’s Club donated the proceeds of this event to lupus research at OMRF. “We count ourselves lucky that the Bachelor’s Club has honored OMRF two years in a row with its generosity,” said OMRF’s Cotton.
The Bachelor’s Club of Oklahoma City was founded in 1938 to promote social and philanthropic undertakings and to provide leadership in the Oklahoma City community. Through its annual Christmas Ball, the Bachelor’s Club has raised more than $180,000 for local charities in recent years.
Chartered in 1946, OMRF is a private, non-profit, biomedical research institute that employs more than 500 scientists, physicians, technicians, and administrative and support personnel. OMRF focuses on several critical areas of research: Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lupus and other autoimmune diseases, stroke, AIDS, aging, children’s disease, and genetic disorders.
