January Dr. Andrew Weyrich begins his tenure as OMRF’s 11th President. In January of 2021, when it came time for the United States to transition from one presidency to the next, things did not go smoothly. In January of 2022, OMRF had no such problems. Right after the New Year, Dr. Andrew Weyrich became OMRF’s 11th president. He succeeded […]
Fighting a Killer
Fighting a Killer
February Two days before he almost died, Ryan Eisner felt great. In fact, if you’d asked him, Eisner, then about to begin his junior year as a point guard for the Drew University basketball team in New Jersey, would’ve told you he was in the best shape of his life. But when a seemingly routine […]
Changing The Odds
Changing The Odds
March Today, just 1 in 5,000 experimental compounds proves safe and effective enough to reach patients. For new drugs, the road to hospitals and clinics is steep and long. Researchers screen countless promising compounds, but they choose only a few to begin clinical trials. Of those selected, roughly 9 out of 10 will fail. For that […]
Taking Aim at Addiction
Taking Aim at Addiction
April The headline in The Washington Post said it all: “A young couple died of overdose, police say. Their baby died of starvation days later.” The article that followed recounted a tragic story. It was specific to a community 60 miles outside Pittsburgh, and to a young family who lost their lives. But it also […]
Cut Carbs, Cut MS Symptoms?
Cut Carbs, Cut MS Symptoms?
May Dr. Scott Plafker likes medical solutions that don’t come in pill bottles. In his OMRF lab, he’s studied how a compound naturally produced in broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can protect eyes as they age. “Because it’s readily available in vegetables, people can get it with ease, and they can get it without […]
A Different Kind of Basic Training
A Different Kind of Basic Training
June OMRF has welcomed military academy students to its labs since 2009. For Dr. John Saxon III, the connection was one worth making. “Some people may not think of basic science and the military as linked, but I thought that I could use OMRF’s work as an opportunity to stimulate some basic bench science interest with cadets […]
Mending the Wounds That Time Cannot
Mending the Wounds That Time Cannot
July A pair of OMRF scientists take a different approach to the study of healing. Time, it’s said, heals all wounds. But we all know that’s not quite true. “Everything must work just right for proper wound healing to take place,” says OMRF’s Dr. Lorin Olson. “It’s a delicate balance.” Olson studies a compound in the […]
Next Question, Please
Next Question, Please
August For Dr. Holly Van Remmen, “research is a puzzle.” As a child, Holly Van Remmen loved to figure out how things worked. Even her younger sister’s supposedly impregnable Fisher-Price transistor radio fell prey to her inquiring mind. “I used butter knives, screwdrivers and all kinds of things to get inside it,” she says. “I just […]
A Legacy That Lives On
A Legacy That Lives On
September Dr. Steve Prescott liked new buildings and laboratories as much as the next president. He led the largest campus expansion in OMRF’s history, adding a new research tower that brought another 200,000 square feet of clinical and lab space to the foundation’s campus. Yet he knew that what really makes an organization special is […]
Worth The Wait
Worth The Wait
October OMRF’s 241 fundraiser returns after a two-year hiatus. The wind – and music – came sweeping across the patio of OMRF’s Research Tower. But even Oklahoma’s gale-force gusts couldn’t dull the mood of the reunion-like atmosphere when the foundation’s annual 241 benefit returned in October after a two-year pandemic hiatus. Country music legend and 14-time […]
Rising Star
Rising Star
November Dr. Sarah Ocañas becomes Oklahoma’s first recipient of a $2.2 million early independence grant. Dr. Sarah Ocañas didn’t take the traditional path to becoming a research scientist. After graduating from college with degrees in mathematics and biology, she joined Teach for America, a nonprofit that sends educators to underserved communities. Ocañas was assigned to Texas’ […]
Still Learning
Still Learning
December The Nonagenarian Society gets – and gives – a lesson in healthy aging. The questions flew fast and furious. How do OMRF scientists share their findings with physicians? What level of detail do researchers include in their grant proposals to funding agencies? How many individual patient samples were used for a particular research project on chemotherapy […]
