For an Oklahoma City graduate attending Oklahoma State University, the chance to spend a summer in the labs of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has been a real eye-opener.
“I am having to learn all of the terms, techniques and protocols. I am surprised at how much goes into being a good researcher,” said Jolie Britt, a Casady graduate who will be a sophomore this fall at OSU. “I am hoping to learn how to write a good paper, but more than that, I am looking to learn how to ask the right questions because I think that’s important in any field you go into.”
Britt is one of 17 Oklahoma students selected to participate in OMRF’s Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar program. Other Oklahoma City students selected for the program, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, are Thelben Burrell, Northwest Classen High School; Amber Kuzmic, University of Oklahoma; Catalina Lupu, Classen School of Advanced Studies; and Anna McGeachy, Putnam City North High School. The program 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.
“I knew what the Fleming program was about, but I didn’t know it would be this much fun,” said Lupu, who plans to attend Cornell University in the fall. “I didn’t know we’d have as much independence in the labs as we do. On my very first day, I was thrown into the lab. I just went in there and observed a lot of the procedures until my own experiment got started.”
The students’ summer projects cover a variety of research areas, including cardiovascular disease, anthrax and lupus.
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, a Newkirk teacher 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
