When you think of research, what pops into your mind? Perhaps it conjures an image of a vaguely Einstein-like figure in a lab. If so, I’ll hazard a guess that scientist is fussing over a petri dish or peering into a microscope.
This popular conception of research is not wrong. In fact, as a researcher, I spent a great deal of time in a lab working with cells in petri dishes and studying them under microscopes. That work was pivotal in helping me to understand platelets, a part of the blood I devoted my scientific career to studying.
But this type of laboratory work is just a part of the picture that makes up medical research.
A vital, and often overlooked, piece of the puzzle is clinical research. That’s the study of the safety and effectiveness of the most promising advances in patient care.
OMRF is rare among America’s independent biomedical research institutes in that we take both approaches. In this issue of Findings, we’ll highlight clinical research.
In our cover story, you’ll meet Dr. Gabriel Pardo, who has devoted his career to improving the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis. And he’s done this in two different, but equally important, ways.
First, as a neuro-ophthalmologist, he’s spent decades providing care to MS patients. During that same time, he’s led dozens of clinical trials of novel medications for MS. This work – clinical research – has not only helped expand the treatment landscape for people with MS. He’s improved their daily lives by enrolling them in trials years before they might otherwise have had access to these therapies. And, most often, they receive these life-changing drugs free of charge.
In this issue, you’ll read about Pennie Sandt, who’s been living with lupus for a little more than half her life. The care she’s received at OMRF has been informed – and improved – by the continuous clinical studies our physician-scientists and their peers have been conducting. And, after watching her mother’s lupus journey, Pennie’s daughter enrolled in a clinical study at OMRF, aiming to smooth the road for others traveling that same path.
You’ll also meet Dr. Wan Hee Yoon. At first glance, his work with fruit flies might not seem to have much to do with patients. But he’s used these tiny, living test tubes to peel away the layers of human illness, discovering a previously unknown disease. And now he’s taking that research to the next level, with a new grant aimed at developing therapies to treat this devastating neurological condition.
Like everything we do at OMRF, these stories are made possible by the support of donors like you. Your vision and generosity enable us to remain true to our founding mission: “… so that more may live longer, healthier lives.”
It’s a mission we’ve reaffirmed many times – including this past year – since we began in 1946. That’s because it keeps the focus where it should be: not on abstract research, but on clinical outcomes. With your help, we’ll keep that focus. And we’ll keep changing lives.
Andrew S. Weyrich
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Read more from the Winter/Spring 2025 edition of Findings
The Searcher
Family Legacy
Voices
Ask Dr. James
Three-Peat
Meeting the Challenge
A Biologist From Birth
On a Mission
Coming to America
