24 & 25. Kenneth & Bernice Steele
Kenneth and Bernice Steele have donated to OMRF for 20 straight years. After “retiring” as the head of a big cattle operation in 1990, Kenneth has continued to run his own cattle ranch in Holdenville for 34 years – and counting. “When I read what OMRF is doing, I feel proud to have a small part in it,” he says.
26. Dr. Dean Dawson
Before Dr. Dean Dawson began pursuing his Ph.D., he spent a summer battling wildfires in Wyoming. He enjoyed the excitement and time outdoors, and he figured that if graduate school didn’t pan out, he’d “go back and fight fires.” Well, graduate school went just fine, and after studying with a pair of Nobel Prize-winning scientists, Dean has become a formidable cell biologist in his own right. For the past 18 years, his lab at OMRF has focused on “trying to figure out how the cells that make up each one of us can divide literally trillions of times and almost maintain the perfect 46 chromosomes per cell necessary for our bodies to function properly.” That work has helped cast light on conditions like cancer and birth defects, and a new federal grant will enable it to continue for another five years. Dean received word of the award in December, the same month he reached another milestone: qualifying for the Boston Marathon for the first time at age 68. If he ever decides to give firefighting another go, the fitness test should be no problem.
27 & 28. Thuy & Nikki Kong
Thuy Kong joined OMRF in 2015. Four years later, she convinced younger sister Nikki to follow suit. Today, both work as technicians in the department of comparative medicine, feeding and maintaining some of the more than 30,000 mice that play a central role in the research of OMRF scientists. Although the sisters work in different parts of the foundation, being a part of the same animal care team has strengthened their bond. “We’ve grown a lot closer,” says Thuy. “We see each other more, talk more, and have more in common.” At a minimum, they try to have lunch together at least once a week. Over those meals, they’ve schemed about recruiting yet another sibling to OMRF. But, says Nikki, “he wasn’t ready to leave his current job.” At least not yet.
29 & 30. Aba Quainoo & Dr. John Saxon III
Aba Quainoo arrived at OMRF in 2023 with modest expectations about her summer internship. “I figured I would just be watching, not really getting hands-on work,” says the West Point cadet. “But when I got here, they explained what the lab is doing, let me watch for a bit, and then I was doing it myself.” Aba interned through the John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program, which is open to U.S. military academy students and compresses an intensive summer research internship into three to four weeks. Dr. John Saxon III, a Muskogee physician and OMRF director, established the program to honor his late father, a West Point graduate who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a career Air Force pilot. “OMRF exposed me to things I was not expecting at this stage of my career,” says Aba, who plans to attend medical school. “It showed me I was able to do so much more than I thought I could.”
31 & 32. Jennifer Allenwood & Joel Solís
Joel Solís is a San Francisco transplant, while Jennifer Allenwood migrated to Oklahoma City to escape the Maine winters. As Oklahomans by choice, the pair have a unique perspective on our state’s many selling points, which they put to use each day as recruiters for OMRF. The foundation draws its staff from all corners of the country, as well as more than two dozen other nations, and candidates often weigh competing opportunities in neighboring states or on the coasts. When they ask about life in Oklahoma City, Jennifer likes to emphasize that “there’s a little something for everyone here, whether you’re a foodie, a sports person, or someone who loves the outdoors.” Joel often focuses on the human element: “Oklahomans are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” But, they both agree, OMRF’s mission serves as the most compelling draw. “Improving human health – what could be better than that?” says Jennifer. Helping people live longer, healthier lives gives OMRF’s recruiting team a sense of purpose. “It sounds cheesy,” she says, “but it’s legit.”
33. Dr. Elizabeth Finn
About the only time Dr. Elizabeth Finn is not thinking about science is when she’s engaged in her other passion – acrobatics. The high-flying hobby hoists the OMRF geneticist and molecular biologist skyward on long, fabric straps, which she uses to spin and otherwise contort her body. “At 30 feet in the air, my mind has to be locked on my next move,” she says. “My focus is the only thing between me and the ground.” In the laboratory, she studies how chromosomes fold themselves within each cell, work that could lead to a deeper understanding of conditions like cancer and epilepsy. Right now, those connections remain up in the air. Which, for Elizabeth, is perfect.
