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Discoveries That Make a Difference

OMRF hosts Putnam City students for Junior Scientist Days

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Penelope Gaither just got a huge head start on the prep work for her future career choice.

The eighth grader at Western Oaks Middle School was among 25 students chosen to represent their schools during this week’s Putnam City Junior Scientist Days at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.

For as long as she can remember, Penelope’s dream has been a career in health care, although early on that dream involved becoming “a unicorn doctor.” She has since homed in on human care, narrowing her someday occupation even further to treating or researching neurological disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s.

Penelope Gaither, an eighth-grader at Western Oaks Middle School, learned how to use a pipette during OMRF’s annual Putnam City Junior Scientist Days on March 3, 2026. At right is her OMRF mentor, Sarai Badillo Salazar.

For Junior Scientist Days, Penelope not only learned from an OMRF Alzheimer’s researcher, but performed the first-ever experiment in the scientist’s new lab. Her task involved extracting DNA from a strawberry, using dishwasher soap, rubbing alcohol and a coffee filter.

Penelope’s peers performed a variety of other experiments during the two-day annual event, which exists to thank the district for 51 years of continuous support.

Some students paired male and female fruit flies, each bred with the same genetic mutation. Others calculated the protein content of a raw egg. Still more examined sections of mouse heart tissue and learned the difference between an artery and a vein.

Penelope was chosen to represent her school through an essay contest. She called Junior Scientist Days “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and noted “the amazing coincidence” of conducting the first experiment in the lab of a scientist who shares her passion for understanding Alzheimer’s.

Her specific scientific interest comes naturally, as Penelope’s great-grandmother was diagnosed two years ago with the most common form of dementia. “I try to see her as often as I can while she can still remember me,” Penelope said.

While students were learning the basics of laboratory research, teachers and parents toured the foundation and heard from OMRF scientists focused on cancer studies.

OMRF created Junior Scientist Days after the district designated OMRF as beneficiary of its Putnam City Cancer Drive in 1975. Since then, the effort has raised $4 million for cancer research at OMRF. That research has led, among other things, to an experimental brain cancer drug now undergoing clinical trials.

“Putnam City has been an incredible partner in OMRF’s cancer research for more than half a century,” said OMRF Assistant Director of Donor Relations Katherine Jackson, who coordinates the event. “This event is one small way we can show our gratitude – and perhaps even light the path for tomorrow’s scientists.”  

Rare Disease Day has special meaning for OMRF scientist

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Rare diseases affect an estimated 300 million people worldwide – so many that the last day of February is set aside each year to recognize them.

For Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Wan Hee Yoon, Ph.D., this year’s Rare Disease Day carries more significance than usual. It comes the same week that The American Journal of Human Genetics published his lab team’s discovery of an ultra-rare neurological disease.

Yoon led an international coalition of scientists who found that mutations of a single gene, NRDC, caused the disorder. In the process, they identified 16 children afflicted with it.

This marks Yoon’s fifth discovery of a rare neurological disease, each caused by separate gene mutations. As with the previous four, this disease has devastating neurological effects.

For Yoon, whose lab focuses on unraveling mysteries like this one, the discovery culminates 14 years of study into NRDC.

His research began in 2012, when Yoon, working as a postdoctoral fellow at the Baylor College of Medicine, discovered severe neurological issues in fruit flies bred with a mutation of NRDC. Four years later, a California boy was found through genetic testing to have a mutation of the same gene.

“But with just one known case at that time, we couldn’t prove that this mutation caused his condition,” Yoon said.

In 2021, a second case was confirmed in Turkey. This drew scientists from eight other countries to begin examining the effects of missing or malfunctioning NRDC genes.

Collaborating with Yoon, they found that fruit flies without a working version of this gene died early. But when scientists gave them a normal NRDC gene, the flies survived.

They have since found that 14 more children, primarily in Middle Eastern countries, had the same disease-causing mutation in NRDC. All had profound intellectual disability and abnormally small brains. Six died before their first birthday, and three others died before turning 3.

“Dr. Yoon excels at the painstaking, prolonged science necessary to identify the mutations behind these rare, incapacitating conditions,” said Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., who chairs OMRF’s Aging & Metabolism Research Program.

While Yoon’s latest discovery is neither a cure nor a treatment for the rare, unnamed disease, it cast light on mysteries that will need to be solved for those one day to become possible. “In that sense, our discovery moved us one step further in understanding how the human body works,” he said.

Yoon’s research was supported by grant No. R01 NS121298 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, and by the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.

OMRF adds new brain researcher

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The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has added Amanda Sharpe, Ph.D., to the faculty of its Aging & Metabolism Research Program.

Sharpe, an associate professor, studies how chronic low levels of inflammation in the brain can affect the entire body. She comes to OMRF from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where she was an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy and also collaborated with OMRF scientists.

“I’ve worked closely with OMRF scientists for the past decade,” said Sharpe. “I’m excited to officially become part of the OMRF team, which I hope will strengthen both my own research and that of my colleagues.”

Sharpe received her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University and her doctorate in pharmacology from Wake Forest University. She completed postdoctoral training at Oregon Health & Science University.

At OMRF, in addition to running her own research lab, she will serve as director of OMRF’s new preclinical behavioral suite. This shared scientific resource will help OMRF scientists use experimental models to accelerate the process of moving laboratory discoveries to the clinic, with an eye toward developing new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“Dr. Sharpe strengthens our growing group of researchers who study the brain,” said Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., who chairs the Aging & Metabolism Research Program. “She brings new expertise that will benefit many investigators throughout OMRF.”

OMRF dedicates Meinders Center for Neurodegenerative Research

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An $8.25 million donation from Herman Meinders and The Meinders Foundation has transformed an unfinished floor in the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s research tower into a hub for studying brain diseases.

OMRF scientists and Board members, along with members and representatives of the Meinders family, dedicated the new center Friday. In the center, OMRF researchers will investigate brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, with the ultimate goal of helping to improve the therapeutic landscape for these conditions.

“These generous gifts from Herman Meinders and his foundation have created Oklahoma’s only center dedicated to scientific studies of brain diseases,” said OMRF Board Chairman Len Cason. “Our scientists already have made groundbreaking discoveries in this area. These gifts will enable us to build upon those breakthroughs.”

The new Meinders Center for Neurodegenerative Research resulted from a conversation a year ago between Cason and his friend Mo Grotjohn, treasurer and trustee for The Meinders Foundation. Grotjohn had read a newspaper article about a National Institutes of Health grant awarded to OMRF scientist Mike Beckstead, Ph.D., for Parkinson’s research.

“As I learned about Dr. Beckstead’s research, I became convinced this was a cause worth supporting, so I contacted Len and then shared the information with members of the Meinders family,” Grotjohn said. “Ultimately, we met with OMRF’s physicians and scientists who study these diseases. We all agreed that Herman would consider this a worthy endeavor.”

Herman Meinders, an Oklahoma City businessman and philanthropist, contributed $2 million toward the gift before his death in March 2025. The Meinders Foundation later added $6.25 million.

Meinders and his wife, LaDonna, were passionate supporters of causes that included research and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Their gifts established the Meinders NeuroScience Institute and the Meinders Center for Movement Disorders at Oklahoma City’s Mercy Hospital. Both centers provide advanced treatment for Parkinson’s disease, which Herman Meinders lived with over his final 10 years.

Ten OMRF scientists lead labs that study various aspects of neurodegenerative diseases. The new Meinders Center for Neurodegenerative Research at OMRF will integrate the work of these labs, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the causes behind brain disorders, including the environmental and genetic factors that increase the risk of developing one.

OMRF is also in discussions with physicians at the Mercy Meinders centers, with the aim of developing collaborative projects that can build on both institutions’ strengths to advance treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

The Meinders Center at OMRF will feature eight labs, two conference rooms, office spaces, a walk-in freezer and other rooms for sample storage in ultralow temperature freezers.

“Our ultimate goal is to improve diagnostics and treatment options for the millions of Americans who live with debilitating brain diseases,” said OMRF President Andrew Weyrich, Ph.D. “This new research center represents an important step forward in reaching that goal.”

$1 million gift strengthens Alzheimer’s research at OMRF

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Harrison and Elaine Levy have made a $1 million gift to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation to support Alzheimer’s research.

To honor that gift, on Wednesday OMRF dedicated the Levy & Ray Family Laboratory for Alzheimer’s Research.

The first scientist to occupy that lab will be Heather Rice, Ph.D. She studies molecules in the brain called amyloid precursor proteins, whose accumulation is believed to play a key role in Alzheimer’s.

More than 6 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer’s. That number is expected to double by 2050.

Harrison Levy, a longtime member of OMRF’s Board of Directors, described the donation for Alzheimer’s research at OMRF as “deeply personal.”

Two years ago, a neurologist diagnosed him as being in the early stages of the disease. The physician prescribed a medication that had recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“It has proven to be quite effective,” Levy said. “My hope is that with this donation, Dr. Rice’s research will lead to more new treatments, or perhaps even to a possible prevention of Alzheimer’s.”

Levy, a commercial real estate broker in Oklahoma City, has been a loyal donor to OMRF since 1981 and a Board member since 1995. Upon deciding to designate a large gift for Alzheimer’s research, Levy and his wife, Elaine, visited Rice’s lab to share his story and better understand her research. On Wednesday, they returned for the dedication, accompanied by their daughter and son-in-law, Alyson and Joe Ray.

OMRF’s Rice described the meeting as “inspirational” and said that it will fuel her lab’s research going forward. “Seeing their names on the wall outside my lab will continually remind us that our work matters as we strive to improve the lives of people with this disease.”

OMRF seeks Teen Leaders for 2026-27 school year

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The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is seeking applicants for its 2026-27 Teen Leaders class. Applications are due March 1.

OMRF’s Teen Leaders program provides group activities, panel discussions with foundation scientists, and tours of the foundation’s labs. Now in its 14th year, the program is open to high school students entering their sophomore, junior and senior years.

“Graduates of Teen Leaders leave with the leadership skills, tools and connections to make a difference in their communities,” said OMRF Assistant Director of Donor Relations Katherine Jackson, who coordinates the program. “The program also helps us educate the next generation about OMRF’s mission, which is to help Oklahomans and people everywhere live longer, healthier lives.”

Claire Kregger, a senior at Edmond North High School and current Teen Leader, said her participation has been eye-opening. “It’s impressive to see so many OMRF employees who are dedicated to making discoveries that have a real impact on people’s lives,” she said.

In addition to interacting with OMRF’s researchers, students learn the fundamentals of nonprofit fundraising and development, networking, and professional development skills. Teens also will enjoy a graduation dinner to cap off program activities.

Group sessions will begin in September and continue through the school year, generally on the second Tuesday of each month. Applicants must demonstrate good academic standing and attend school in Oklahoma. There is no cost to participate.

For more information and to apply, visit www.omrf.org/teen.

New OMRF research shows potential to slow Alzheimer’s

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Forgetting dates or recently acquired information is the hallmark sign of early Alzheimer’s. New research by Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists suggests a way to protect the brain from this forgetfulness.

OMRF scientist Heather Rice, Ph.D., studies molecules in the brain called amyloid precursor proteins. Faulty breakdown of these proteins creates plaques that are thought to damage neurons and cause cognitive decline as Alzheimer’s progresses.

“But we have found that these proteins also have beneficial functions,” Rice said. “With this study, we wanted to explore whether those helpful functions might lead to a new treatment avenue for Alzheimer’s.”

Rice collaborated with Boston University neuroscientist Michael Hasselmo, Ph.D., on the study. Hasselmo has developed a model linking excessive brain activity to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, and Rice’s research suggests a potential therapy that could reduce this overactivation.

Along with Dylan Barber, a graduate student in Rice’s OMRF lab, Rice and Hasselmo tested a new idea: that one fragment of the amyloid precursor protein might prevent the uncontrolled growth of brain connections by attaching to a receptor on brain cells.

Using computer simulations, the scientists found that this fragment indeed helped keep memory connections stable by stopping the runaway growth.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, affecting nearly 7 million Americans. There currently are no drugs to cure it, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved treatments for symptoms, including dementia.

Early clinical trials involving work by other researchers have shown promise for a drug cocktail including the muscle relaxant baclofen, which targets the same brain receptors Rice and Hasselmo modeled. “Our study found that the fragment of amyloid precursor protein we tested was more effective at stabilizing memory than baclofen,” Rice said.

While Rice cautioned that her lab’s discovery is a prediction based on computer models, she said it lays the groundwork for further experiments.

“Similar strategies are already being used successfully in new treatments for schizophrenia, and those same drugs could potentially help people with Alzheimer’s as well,” said Hasselmo.

This discovery was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. The study was supported by grant No. R35 GM142726 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

OMRF scientists create biological tools to help diagnose rare genetic diseases

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A powerful new technology developed at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation could dramatically speed up the process of diagnosing rare genetic diseases.

The breakthrough is a collection of biological tools that will enable scientists to precisely recreate patient-specific genetic mutations in research models. Physicians will then be able to use this information to diagnose and guide the treatment of patients living with rare diseases, a group that numbers approximately 30 million in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

When doctors discover an unusual genetic variant in a patient with an unidentified or rare medical condition, they often face a challenging question: Did this mutation cause the patient’s symptoms, or is it simply a harmless variation? With thousands of potential disease-causing mutations identified each year, scientists need efficient ways to determine which ones truly matter. The new technology addresses this need.

“For families waiting for a diagnosis, every day counts,” said Dr. Gaurav Varshney, who led the research project at OMRF. “Our new tools allow us to test whether a specific genetic mutation causes disease in a matter of weeks rather than months. This means we can give families answers faster and help doctors make more informed treatment decisions.”

The new tools are built on technology called CRISPR, which revolutionized genetics by allowing scientists to make precise changes to DNA. The new gene editors use an engineered protein that can precisely change individual pieces of DNA with high accuracy and minimal side effects.

Varshney’s lab tested the tools in zebrafish. About 80% of human disease-causing genes have a counterpart gene in the tiny aquatic creatures. The OMRF researchers successfully created zebrafish models of genetic conditions that include a form of hearing loss and a developmental disorder, proving the technology can validate whether specific mutations cause disease.

While the tools were tested in zebrafish, they can be adapted to other research models, Varshney said. And these models can be used to test mutations that physicians identify in patients.

“We’ve essentially created a testing platform that can help resolve diagnostic uncertainty,” said Wei Qin, Ph.D., a scientist in Varshney’s lab who also worked on the project. “When a patient has a genetic variant that might or might not cause their condition, we can now quickly create a model carrying that exact mutation and see whether it produces similar symptoms. This gives doctors and families the evidence they need.”

This new technology will be made available for free to researchers worldwide, said Varshney.

The journal Nature Biomedical Engineering recently published this discovery. Varshney’s research was supported by grant No. R24OD034438 from the Office of Research Infrastructure Program of the National Institutes of Health, along with funding by the Presbyterian Health Foundation.

This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIH.

OMRF to study how exercise benefits older people with multiple sclerosis

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A year ago, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists launched an ambitious, five-year study aimed at understanding what makes some people over age 60 respond differently to exercise than others.

Now, thanks to a grant from the Presbyterian Health Foundation, a pilot project seeks to answer the same question in older people with multiple sclerosis. The funding will enable an important collaboration between OMRF researchers who study aging and clinician-scientists who work with MS patients in OMRF’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence.

In MS, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, a protective layer covering nerve fibers. The damage disrupts nerve signals, leading to a range of problems that include muscle weakness, balance and vision impairment, cognitive difficulties, and fatigue. The disease affects more than 1 in every 500 Americans.

Not that long ago, physicians typically advised MS patients to avoid exercise, fearing the resulting body heat would trigger the disease and cause extreme fatigue. Only in the past 30 years has conventional wisdom switched, said Bobbette Miller, Ph.D., a neurologic physical therapist who will coordinate the new study.

“Most existing studies involve people with MS under age 60, and those studies show that exercise actually improves fatigue,” said Miller.

OMRF clinicians will identify 10 current MS patients age 60 and above. All patients who volunteer to participate will undergo a supervised 12-week exercise protocol that involves both cardiovascular and strength training.

“We have limited medical experience treating older MS patients,” said Gabriel Pardo, M.D., director of OMRF’s MS Center of Excellence. “What we learn through this study will give us insight into how to implement the right strategies to improve function and quality of life.”

Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., who leads OMRF’s Aging & Metabolism Research Program, applied for the grant for this study. He hopes the results will lay the foundation for a larger study of how exercise can benefit older MS patients.

One important aspect will examine monoparesis, or single-leg weakness, a common symptom of MS caused by neurologic damage. Participants will undergo muscle biopsies to determine whether working out improves this condition, said Certified Physician Assistant Jennifer Smith, who will assist with the study.

April Stuart, the Presbyterian Health Foundation’s director of grants and programs, said PHF funded project because it “connects strong science with real patient need.”

“By building on an existing clinical trial and the expertise of the MS Center of Excellence, this study creates an important opportunity to better understand how people age with multiple sclerosis and to develop more personalized guidance for maintaining strength and function,” Stuart said.

Grant will fund OMRF research on artificial joint infections

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An Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist has received a two-year National Institutes of Health grant to explore the root cause of debilitating infections that can follow joint replacement surgery.

Aleksander Szymczak, Ph.D., will investigate whether these post-operative infections are triggered by the microbiome – tiny communities of bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in our bodies.

“It happens several thousand times a year in the U.S., in up to 2% of all hip and knee replacement surgeries,” said Szymczak, a postdoctoral researcher who is training at OMRF with physician-scientist Matlock Jeffries, M.D. “For the patient, treating them can be crippling, both physically and financially.”

According to a 2021 study, hospital costs related to these infections are expected to reach nearly $2 billion in the U.S. by 2030.

OMRF physician-scientist Matlock Jeffries, M.D., examines a patient’s knee.

“It’s a huge deal,” said Jeffries, a rheumatologist who’s seen patients endure a joint replacement infection. “It’s tricky to diagnose, and once you diagnose it, you can’t treat it with antibiotics. That new joint hardware must be removed and replaced with a temporary antibiotic spacer for several months while the area recovers. Usually that means they rely on a wheelchair or crutches.”

After recovery, the surgeon may try again to install a new joint. However, the rate of infection is significantly higher following these second attempts. Jeffries hopes Szymczak’s study will provide context to that phenomenon.

“One common belief is that something happens during the surgery that allows bacteria to get into the wound and cause an infection,” he said. “We suspect something different: that bacteria already living in the body put some patients at high risk for infection, which would explain why they would get an infection following both the first and second attempts.”

To test that hypothesis, Szymczak will analyze samples of blood, cartilage, synovial fluid and fecal material – all of which have separate microbiomes. The samples, collected before and during surgery, are provided by Paul Jacob, D.O., an orthopedic surgeon at the Oklahoma Joint Reconstruction Institute in Oklahoma City.

If the scientists’ hypothesis is correct, it will provide a better understanding of how these infections occur. The study also could lead to a diagnostic test that helps physicians either advise against joint replacement for high-risk patients or prescribe pre-surgical antibiotics to reduce the chance of infection.

Szymczak also will study bacteriophages — viruses that specifically infect bacteria — in the context of arthritis, as these viruses have not previously been widely studied in arthritis patients.

His grant, No. K99AR086336-01, was awarded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the NIH.

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