The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has welcomed its 50th class of Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars. The class, 13 in all, represent some of Oklahoma’s most talented high school and college science students.
The eight high-schoolers and five collegians were selected from more than 100 applicants. the students, all of whom are contemplating careers in medical research, will spend the next eight weeks in OMRF’s labs, working under the direction of senior scientists. They will complete individual research projects, write scientific papers for publications and present their work in formal seminars.
“These students represent the best of the best in their home schools, yet for many of them, this will be their first glimpse at true laboratory research,” said OMRF President J. Donald Capra, M.D. “They’ll get a chance to perform real experiments in real labs—it’s an experience like no other for scientist in training.”
Two of OMRF’s faculty members, Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Rodger McEver, M.D., got their start as Fleming Scholars.
James, a rheumatologist originally from Pond Creek, garnered national and worldwide attention when she published a groundbreaking paper on lupus in The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world’s leading scientific journals. She is the only Oklahoman ever to win the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
McEver, OMRF’s vice president for research and an internationally recognized cardiovascular disease researcher, was born and raised in Oklahoma City. In 2004, he received more than $4 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, making him one of the state’s highest-funded researchers.
The Fleming Scholars program has served as a model for similar programs nationwide since its creation in 1956. With the class of 2005, OMRF has now trained more than 400 students through this program. Next year, the program will celebrate its golden anniversary, an event that will be marked by a reunion bringing together graduates from across the country.
The 2005 Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars are:
Carly Allred,Tulsa, Union High School
Elizabeth Burner, Oklahoma City, University of Oklahoma
Arina Chesnokova, Norman, Norman High School
Amanda Drabek, Yukon, University of Oklahoma
Sara Francis, Broken Arrow, University of Oklahoma
Alisha Hazelton, McLoud, Del City High School
Troy Hutchens, Stillwater, Southwestern University (Gerogetown, Tex.)
Stephanie Li, Oklahoma City, Putnam City High School
Lucy Liu, Edmond, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Aleisha McCabe, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma State University
Jaclyn Pennington, Newalla, Carl Albert High School
Alex Thompson, Midwest City, Choctaw High School
Jeffrey Zhang, Edmond, Edmond Santa Fe High School
About OMRF:
Chartered in 1946, OMRF (www.omrf.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and curing human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease. OMRF is home to Oklahoma’s only member of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has welcomed its 50th class of Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars. The class, 13 in all, represent some of Oklahoma’s most talented high school and college science students.
The eight high-schoolers and five collegians were selected from more than 100 applicants. the students, all of whom are contemplating careers in medical research, will spend the next eight weeks in OMRF’s labs, working under the direction of senior scientists. They will complete individual research projects, write scientific papers for publications and present their work in formal seminars.
“These students represent the best of the best in their home schools, yet for many of them, this will be their first glimpse at true laboratory research,” said OMRF President J. Donald Capra, M.D. “They’ll get a chance to perform real experiments in real labs—it’s an experience like no other for scientist in training.”
Two of OMRF’s faculty members, Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Rodger McEver, M.D., got their start as Fleming Scholars.
James, a rheumatologist originally from Pond Creek, garnered national and worldwide attention when she published a groundbreaking paper on lupus in The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world’s leading scientific journals. She is the only Oklahoman ever to win the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
McEver, OMRF’s vice president for research and an internationally recognized cardiovascular disease researcher, was born and raised in Oklahoma City. In 2004, he received more than $4 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, making him one of the state’s highest-funded researchers.
The Fleming Scholars program has served as a model for similar programs nationwide since its creation in 1956. With the class of 2005, OMRF has now trained more than 400 students through this program. Next year, the program will celebrate its golden anniversary, an event that will be marked by a reunion bringing together graduates from across the country.
The 2005 Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars are:
Carly Allred,Tulsa, Union High School
Elizabeth Burner, Oklahoma City, University of Oklahoma
Arina Chesnokova, Norman, Norman High School
Amanda Drabek, Yukon, University of Oklahoma
Sara Francis, Broken Arrow, University of Oklahoma
Alisha Hazelton, McLoud, Del City High School
Troy Hutchens, Stillwater, Southwestern University (Gerogetown, Tex.)
Stephanie Li, Oklahoma City, Putnam City High School
Lucy Liu, Edmond, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Aleisha McCabe, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma State University
Jaclyn Pennington, Newalla, Carl Albert High School
Alex Thompson, Midwest City, Choctaw High School
Jeffrey Zhang, Edmond, Edmond Santa Fe High School
About OMRF:
Chartered in 1946, OMRF (www.omrf.org) is a nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and curing human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease. OMRF is home to Oklahoma’s only member of the National Academy of Sciences.
