Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (OMRF) IS DEDICATED TO DEVELOPING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF AND MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR HUMAN DISEASE.

ARTHRITIS & CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY/CLINICAL OPERATIONS - THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NAMED OMRF ONE OF THE LEAD SITES FOR A NATIONWIDE COVID-19 VACCINE CLINICAL TRIAL. THE STUDY ASSESSED THE ANTIBODY RESPONSE TO BOOSTER SHOTS IN PEOPLE WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES WHO DIDN'T MOUNT STRONG IMMUNE RESPONSES TO INITIAL VACCINATION. "WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT PEOPLE WITH AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE BREAKTHROUGH EPISODES OF COVID EVEN WHEN FULLY VACCINATED," SAID DR. JUDITH JAMES, WHO LED THE TRIAL AT OMRF. THE STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER GIVING VOLUNTEERS A BOOSTER WOULD ELICIT A STRONGER ANTIBODY RESPONSE WITHOUT FLARING THEIR UNDERLYING DISEASE. THE TRIAL ENROLLED PEOPLE WITH CONDITIONS THAT INCLUDE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND LUPUS.

CARDIOVASCULAR BIOLOGY RESEARCH PROGRAM - WITH A MAJOR NEW MENTORING GRANT FROM THE NIH, OMRF WILL PROVIDE FIVE YEARS OF FUNDING FOR FIVE JUNIOR SCIENTISTS, WHO WILL EACH STUDY VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CELLULAR METABOLISM. "CELLULAR METABOLISM IS THE SUM OF ALL CHEMICAL CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN CELLS. WHEN IT IS ALTERED, IT CONTRIBUTES TO THE ORIGIN OF MANY COMMON DISEASES," SAID DR. LIJUN XIA, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR ON THE GRANT. HE WILL SERVE AS THE LEAD SCIENTIFIC MENTOR FOR THE RESEARCHERS, WHO JOINED OMRF FOLLOWING POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AT YALE UNIVERSITY, THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH, SEATTLE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, AND THE LA JOLLA INSTITUTE FOR IMMUNOLOGY.

AGING AND METABOLISM RESEARCH PROGRAM - DR. MICHAEL BECKSTEAD RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING TO INVESTIGATE A POSSIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DOPAMINE, A CHEMICAL RESPONSIBLE FOR VOLUNTARY MOVEMENT AND THE PERCEPTION OF REWARD IN THE BRAIN. BECKSTEAD STUDIES WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN THINGS GO WRONG WITH DOPAMINE NEURONS, RANGING FROM PARKINSON'S DISEASE (TOO LITTLE) TO DRUG ADDICTION (TOO MUCH). "ALTHOUGH DOPAMINE HAS NEVER BEEN STUDIED IN CONTEXT WITH ALZHEIMER'S, WE HAVE A LOT OF EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT IT'S INVOLVED, ESPECIALLY IN THE INITIAL STAGES OF DISEASE," HE SAID.

OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS CELL CYCLE AND CANCER BIOLOGY, GENES AND HUMAN DISEASE, GENETIC MODELS OF DISEASE AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH SUPPORT SERVICES.