1-4. Gov. Brad & First Lady Kim Henry and Gov. Frank & First Lady Cathy Keating
When it came time to take the concept of a statewide gratitude tour and transform it into an actual campaign that touched each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, who better to lead the effort than a pair of the Sooner State’s former First Ladies and their husbands? “I thought it was a fantastic idea to explain to people across Oklahoma the outstanding medical research happening in our home state,” says former First Lady Kim Henry, who, along with former Gov. Brad Henry, gladly accepted the assignment. Kim had previously served on OMRF’s National Advisory Council, as had former First Lady Cathy Keating, who, with former Gov. Frank Keating, agreed to join Kim and Brad as 77 for 77 co-chairs. “OMRF is one of the most highly regarded medical research institutes in the country. We’re doing great work,” says Cathy. “This campaign is a great way to spread the message.” For her, 77 for 77 is nothing less than a “call to action.” And that action is to get more Oklahomans involved with OMRF. “OMRF is a jewel in our Oklahoma crown,” Cathy says. “Everybody needs to feel ownership of that jewel.”
5. Courtney Griffin
When Dr. Courtney Griffin became OMRF’s vice president of research in 2023, it marked yet another important step in her 15-year career at the foundation. A graduate of Harvard University who earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, she joined OMRF as an assistant professor in the Cardiovascular Biology Research Program following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research on how blood vessels develop turned heads, earning multiple publications in leading scientific journals and a series of federal grants. She made her way up OMRF’s academic ladder, with promotions to associate and then full professor, and she was installed as the Scott Zarrow Chair in Biomedical Research. She took on key roles both internally and externally, leading OMRF’s postdoctoral training program as well as the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research and the North American Vascular Biology Organization. With her new role, Courtney now serves as OMRF’s chief scientific officer, and she’s already begun charting the course of OMRF’s research programs as they look to the horizon. “Our scientists are poised to do some amazing work, and I’m excited to help them,” she says.
6. Matlock Jeffries
Early in his residency, Dr. Matlock Jeffries realized that his patients “all had osteoarthritis.” When he dug into the medical literature, he found little research on the condition, which affects at least 32 million Americans. “With how common it was, I thought that was strange.” Now a rheumatologist, researcher and director of OMRF’s Osteoarthritis Center of Excellence, the Miami, Oklahoma, native is working hard to change that, most recently with a grant from a new federal “moonshot” program that will enable him to test a single-injection treatment that promotes tissue regeneration and restores joints. “If this works,” he says, “it would be one of the most dramatic accomplishments of modern biomedical science.”
7 & 8. Carolyn & Paul Schulte
Carolyn and Paul Schulte have been giving to OMRF for more than two decades. A member of OMRF’s board of directors, Paul, an attorney, grew up on a wheat farm in Kingfisher County, where he and Carolyn still live. “For as long as I can remember, my parents supported OMRF,” he says. His father, a farmer, contracted polio as a child, and he witnessed the advent of a cure during his lifetime. He knew it wouldn’t have come without research, and investing in the next generation of research projects made sense to him. “Farmers always strive to leave the land better than they found it,” says Paul. That same mindset has continued to motivate Paul and Carolyn’s support of OMRF: It’s a gift to those who follow.
9. Jannie Jefferies
Jannie Jefferies recently marked her 80th birthday. That meant a celebratory lunch with her many friends at the foundation, who presented her with a tiara and sash to commemorate the occasion. Of those 80 years, Jannie has spent the past 33-plus as file coordinator in OMRF’s accounting department, where the only thing more reliable than her record-keeping is the supply of candy she sets out on her desk to share with coworkers. Jannie has moved to part-time as she phases toward retirement, but she continues a custom that’s marked her entire tenure at OMRF: serenading the office with an impromptu vocal performance when the moment strikes her. “I just try to fit the song with what’s going on,” she says. “Sometimes it feels inspirational to me.” And, she hopes, to others.
10 & 11. Tom Gray & Rick McCune
Tom Gray and Rick McCune aren’t scientists. But as chairman and president of Oklahoma City’s Presbyterian Health Foundation, they share a goal with OMRF’s researchers: to improve the health of all Oklahomans. To help achieve that goal, the foundation has awarded more than $215 million to OMRF and other state organizations aligned with the foundation’s mission. Each year, the foundation provides grants that support needs and programs at OMRF and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Those awards include seed funding for new ideas, an M.D./Ph.D. training program, equipment, scientist recruitment and retention, and collaborative grants, which enable teams to work across disciplines. The foundation, says Tom, isn’t afraid to invest in high-risk, high-reward projects. “When you plant a seed, either it’s going to produce, or it’s not.” But without seeds, he says, one thing is assured: Nothing will grow.
