Twenty students from throughout the U.S. will intern this summer at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, conducting lab research in areas such as aging, cancer, autoimmune disorders and genetic factors behind human diseases.
OMRF will host 14 Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars, two Langston University Biomedical Research Scholars, and four John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program students. The Fleming and Langston Scholars arrived Monday.
“Welcoming our Summer Scholars each year is a highlight for all of us at OMRF,” said Ashley Cheyney, Ph.D., OMRF’s assistant director of scientific training and outreach. “The students bring fresh energy and curiosity into our labs, and in return, they gain hands-on experience in the heart of Oklahoma’s biomedical research community.”
All OMRF summer scholars are currently enrolled in college or will be college freshmen this fall.
At the end of their internships, which last up to eight weeks, the students will deliver presentations to the foundation’s research staff.
The Fleming program, founded in 1956, is named for the British scientist who discovered penicillin and dedicated OMRF’s first building. Students from Oklahoma are eligible.
Now in its fourth year, the Langston program is a partnership between OMRF and Langston University.
Since 2009, the Saxon program has provided more than 40 internships to students from U.S. service academies. John Saxon III, M.D., a Muskogee physician and OMRF Board member, established the program to honor his father, a West Point graduate who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a career Air Force pilot.
This year’s Fleming Scholars are:
- Adreana Aquino, Edmond, homeschool/Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s Biosciences and Medicine Academy, Southwestern Oklahoma State University
- Adriahna Blackburn, Nardin, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, Oklahoma State University
- Colter Bufford, Crescent, Edmond Santa Fe High School, Southern Nazarene University
- Cadance Burke, Midwest City, Carl Albert High School, Oklahoma State University
- Joshua Cheng, Norman, Norman High School, Fordham University
- Sophia Fu, Edmond, Edmond Santa Fe High School, University of Oklahoma
- Gabriella Gasbarra, Oklahoma City, Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, Oklahoma State University
- Edward Kang, Edmond, Casady School, Harvard College
- Ceyda Kara, Stillwater, Stillwater High School, Oklahoma State University
- Cody Moss, Stillwater, Stillwater High School, Oklahoma State University
- Princeton Niblack, Luther, Luther High School, University of Central Oklahoma
- Aaron Pan, Edmond, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, Emory University
- Fatima Ruiz Loera, Oklahoma City, Putnam City West High School, University of Oklahoma
- Ashlyn Stephenson, Owasso, Owasso High School, University of Tulsa
Langston Scholars are:
- Shania Blythe, Chandler, Arizona
- Quentavius Wickliffe, Guthrie, Guthrie High School
Saxon Scholars are:
- Aaron Gu, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. Naval Academy
- Shawn Palmer, Choctaw, Choctaw High School, U.S. Naval Academy
- Joey Shi, Livingston, New Jersey, West Point
- Hayden Ward, Mobile, Alabama, Air Force Academy
