The Southern Group of State Foresters has made a donation of $1,700 to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. The group presented the check to OMRF at its annual conference in Oklahoma City last month.
The nonprofit organization consists of state foresters from Oklahoma, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The foresters raised the funds through a silent auction at the conference, which was attended by approximately 200 foresters from across the country.
Oklahoma State Forester John Burwell chose OMRF as the recipient of the gift to honor the memory of former Oklahoma State Forester Jim Riley, who recently died of brain cancer. The gift will go to support cancer research at OMRF.
OMRF scientists have identified a compound that holds promise for the treatment of deadly brain cancers, and they now are testing that compound in pre-clinical experiments. Other researchers at OMRF are examining the causes of lymphomas, leukemias and myelomas.
“We are grateful to have partners like the Southern Group of State Foresters in the battle against cancer,” said OMRF Vice President of Development Penny Voss, who accepted the donation at a banquet held during the conference. “Donations like this give our scientists the tools to better understand and fight a disease that touches all of our lives.”
The Southern Group of State Foresters (southernforests.org) works to identify and address exiting issues and challenges that are important to Southern forests and citizens. Its mission is to provide leadership in sustaining the economic, environmental and social benefit of the South’s forests.
OMRF (omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. Chartered in 1946, its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease.
About OMRF:
OMRF (www.omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. Chartered in 1946, its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease.
