Twenty-one students will spend the summer conducting hands-on experiments at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
The students, who arrived June 1, include 15 Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars, three Langston University Biomedical Research Scholars, and three John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program students.
They will work in OMRF labs that focus in the areas of aging, heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders and genetic factors behind human diseases.
“Arrival day for our Summer Scholars is something our entire foundation looks forward to each year,” said Ashley Cheyney, Ph.D., OMRF’s director of scientific training and outreach. “The students bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas into our labs, and in return, they receive a unique biomedical research experience.”
All OMRF summer scholars are currently enrolled in college or will be college freshmen this fall. Internships last up to eight weeks, concluding with each scholar making a presentation to the foundation’s research staff about the research they conducted.
The Fleming program, founded in 1956, is named for the British scientist who discovered penicillin and dedicated OMRF’s first building. Students from anywhere in Oklahoma are eligible, and more than 650 have completed the program since its inception.
This is the fifth summer Langston University has partnered with OMRF to train Langston students in the foundation’s labs. Previous Langston scholars have used the opportunity to perform research on diseases that have included multiple sclerosis, arthritis, lupus and cancer.
The Saxon program provides internships to students from U.S. service academies. John Saxon III, M.D., a Muskogee physician and OMRF Board member, established the program to honor his father, a West Point graduate who taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a career Air Force pilot.
“Each summer, these energetic young people are like a shot of adrenaline for us,” said OMRF President Andrew Weyrich, Ph.D. “We love having them here, and we value the opportunity to help train the next generation of biomedical researchers.”
This year’s Fleming Scholars are:
- Saif Al Hashimi, Norman, Norman High School, Colgate University
- Larissa Burton, Oklahoma City, Epic Charter School, University of Oklahoma
- Mallory Forsgren, Crescent, Crescent High School, University of Central Oklahoma
- Nicole Gilkey, Norman, Norman North High School, Drake University
- Alex Kidangathazhe, Stillwater, Stillwater High School, Johns Hopkins University
- Aiden Kim, Stillwater, Stillwater High School, Stanford University
- London Lawrence, Mustang, homeschooled, University of Central Oklahoma
- Crystal Le, Edmond, Deer Creek High School, University of Oklahoma
- Nonie Reding, Oklahoma City, Casady School, Brown University
- Harini Senthil, Tulsa, Jenks High School, Brown University
- John Seo, Owasso, Owasso High School, University of Tulsa
- Victoria Sun, Norman, Norman North High School, Johns Hopkins University
- Ethan Thomas, Yukon, Yukon High School, University of California, Berkeley
- Christina Truong, Oklahoma City, Putnam North High School, University of Oklahoma
- Andrew Zhang, Norman, Norman North High School, University of Oklahoma
Langston Scholars are:
- Shania Blythe, Chandler, Arizona, Langston University
- Jasiah Heck, Jenks, Jenks High School, Langston University
- Nojua Malone, Frisco, Texas, Langston University
Saxon Scholars are:
- Michael Golden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Military Academy
- Emma Gu, West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. Naval Academy
- Daotian Ma, Elliott City, Maryland, U.S. Naval Academy
