59 & 60. Drs. Chris & Courtney Sansam
Drs. Courtney and Chris Sansam got married when both were graduate students at Vanderbilt University. But due to rigorous schedules followed by postdoctoral fellowships at different institutions, “We never saw each other,” says Courtney. That changed in 2010, when Chris opened his lab at OMRF, and Courtney signed on as his lab manager. In the years since, their partnership has cast new light on gene replication and how errors in the process contribute to cancer and other diseases. Not surprisingly, what goes on at OMRF doesn’t always stay at OMRF. “I ask science questions at home all the time,” says Chris. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve avoided the fate predicted by one of Chris’ mentors when he learned the couple intended to work together. “He said, ‘That’s a terrible idea. You’ll get a divorce.’”
61-63. Dr. Bob & Nancy Ellis, Angela Ferguson
Dr. Bob Ellis goes way back with OMRF. While in medical school, he worked on OMRF’s first fundraising campaign, asking doctors to make a gift to help build a new medical research foundation in Oklahoma. Those efforts proved fruitful – OMRF opened its doors in 1950 – and Bob went on to a long and successful career as an allergist in Oklahoma City. When he and his wife, Nancy, decided to make a series of major charitable gifts to local institutions in 2023, they put OMRF, which they’d donated to for many years, on that list. “I wanted to try and help Oklahoma,” Bob says. Still, the donation was about much more than a historical connection. Nancy’s daughter, Angela Ferguson, has received care at OMRF’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence for more than a decade. “My Angela has done so very well,” says Nancy. “You would never know she has MS.” With their gift, Bob and Nancy want to ensure that more patients can receive that same level of specialized care – and enjoy healthier, more fulfilling lives.
64 & 65. Drs. Wen-Chun Ho & Sathish Srinivasan
Drs. Sathish Srinivasan and Yen-Chun Ho have discovered a new potential treatment path for a common heart ailment. In experiments with mice that lacked certain proteins, the OMRF researchers found that heart valves became thick and overgrown and didn’t close tightly. “The valve sort of became clumsy,” says Sathish, who joined the foundation in 2013 from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. That condition, known as mitral valve prolapse, affects as many as 6 million Americans and can require surgical repair or a heart valve replacement. The researchers believe they have identified a molecule that could be an effective target for a therapy. OMRF has filed for a patent on the approach and is now seeking an industry partner to develop the technology.
66. Congressman Tom Cole
Congressman Tom Cole of Moore has played a pivotal role in increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health. That’s meant greater resources for medical research nationwide, including in his home state. “It’s a point of pride for Oklahoma to have an institution like OMRF,” says the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “It means some of the best research in the world can be done right here.” Although the fifth- generation Oklahoman says his personal experiences don’t influence his interest in funding research, he knows firsthand the toll disease takes. His wife, Ellen, lives with multiple sclerosis, and his father, John, developed Alzheimer’s and spent the final 12 years of his life in care facilities. “Eleven of those years, he didn’t know any of us. It was terrible.” Countless families, he says, are facing similar challenges. “If the government has the resources to do something to help, then they ought to do that.”
67. David Nordyke
David Nordyke doesn’t know exactly how long he’s been giving to OMRF. But when the retired architect checked the foundation’s website not long ago, he saw his name on a list of people who’d donated each year for more than a decade. It’s not a streak he intends to break. “I just automatically give,” he says. “I know the great outcomes OMRF produces, and I want to continue to give the rest of my life.” Most often, the Norman resident donates in honor of people close to him. “I had a friend who passed away last week unexpectedly due to a heart attack,” he said recently, “so, I made a gift in his name to cardiovascular research.” Supporting medical research, he says, represents one way he can share some of the “many blessings” he’s enjoyed in his life.
68. Michael Watkins
In a typical shift at OMRF, Michael Watkins logs about 16,000 steps. “On a good day, I’ll get up to 10 miles,” he says. As a duty technician, Michael spends nights and weekends walking the foundation’s halls, checking for and responding to alarms and leaks from heating and cooling systems, freezers and scientific equipment. “My job is to make sure everything’s operating well while the other technicians are at home.” Michael, now 62, first worked in building maintenance four decades ago. “It was the most peaceful, wonderful time of my life,” he says. After a career in sales that left his nerves “shot,” Michael saw a chance to join OMRF and return to his professional roots. Almost two years in, he couldn’t be happier with the decision. “It’s beautiful,” he says. “I get to be around a lot of stimulating people.” He stays fit and active, and he never takes work home to his wife, Heather. While making his rounds at the foundation, Michael listens to classical music or audiobooks, but always on a Bluetooth device engineered so it doesn’t block sounds from the outside world. After all, he says, “I have to be able to hear the alarms.”
