For a newly graduated Shawnee High School student, the chance to spend a summer in the labs of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has been a real eye-opener.
“I expected it to be stiff, stern scientists mixing chemicals in white lab coats and calmly examining charts of data,” said Taryn Tate, who will attend Oklahoma State University this fall. “Now I know that it’s real adults – and teenagers – who show enormous dedication and fervor, racing to cure diseases for other people.”
Tate is one of 17 Oklahoma students selected to participate in OMRF’s Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar program. The program, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, gives students the chance to complete individual research projects, write scientific papers for publication and present their work in formal seminars.
The students arrived at OMRF at the beginning of June and are spending eight weeks at OMRF conducting medical research.
“The Fleming program is worlds beyond your typical summer job,” said Tate. “I am actually working on research that is relevant to the health of ordinary people and the war on cancer.”
Tate’s summer project specifically focuses on brain cancer. Working with a pair of OMRF researchers, she is studying whether administering a certain compound may prevent the growth and spread of brain cancer by shrinking tumors.
The Fleming Scholars program has served as a model for similar programs nationwide since its creation in 1956. More than 400 students have been trained through the program at OMRF. Two of OMRF’s faculty members, Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., and Rodger McEver, M.D., got their start as Fleming Scholars.
“Many students leave knowing that research is an area they had not truly considered, but they have been enticed by the exploration bug,” said Ginger Coleman, who has helped coordinate the program for a decade. “I want them to have made contacts and bonds with people that they will be sharing their professional careers and possibly know for a lifetime. Although I teach during the school year, this is a completely different experience and intertwines education, business and people skills – all activities dear to my heart.”
About OMRF:
Celebrating its 60th birthday in 2006, 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. It is home to Oklahoma’s only member of the National Academy of Sciences.
