The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Board of Directors welcomed two new members and honored two others during its semiannual meeting Thursday.
Joining the Board are Sherri Lance of Sulphur and Gail Muncrief of Edmond.
Lance and her husband, Bill, served as this year’s sponsorship chairs of 241, OMRF’s largest annual fundraising event. She is president and managing partner of Gaming Capital Group. She also serves on the boards of United Way of Central Oklahoma, Integris Health, and the Oklahoma Association on Problem Gambling.
Muncrief and her husband, Rick, are major supporters of the foundation’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence. Earlier this year, they made a $1.5 million gift for MS care and research. She serves as a trustee of the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum, the Oklahoma State University Foundation, and the national Chi Omega Foundation.
The Board also elected Carl Edwards of Oklahoma City and Ross Swimmer of Tulsa as life directors.
Edwards has served on the Board since 2010. He has chaired the Board’s Technology Ventures Committee and played a pivotal role in establishing a partnership between OMRF and the Presbyterian Health Foundation, where he served as chair for 17 years.
Swimmer has been an OMRF Board member since 1989. A former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and assistant secretary for Indian Affairs under President Ronald Reagan, Swimmer has been instrumental in helping OMRF build relationships, support and visibility in the Tulsa area and within Oklahoma’s tribal communities.
Also Thursday, OMRF’s Scientific Advisory Board reviewed the Cardiovascular Biology Research Program. That program, led by Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., studies the blood and other systems in the body that can contribute to a wide range of diseases, including heart attack, stroke and vision loss.
“This is an extremely strong research program,” said James Kirkland, M.D., of The Mayo Clinic, who chaired this year’s Scientific Advisory Board. “OMRF is a real gem in the state and in this part of the country.”
Composed of six distinguished scientists from universities and research institutes across the country, the Scientific Advisory Board provides a rigorous outside review the foundation’s research programs to ensure OMRF maintains the highest scientific standards.
