The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), located in the Oklahoma Health Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute. Established in 1946, OMRF is dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. Andrew S. Weyrich, Ph.D. serves as president of OMRF,[1] which employs more than 500 scientific and administrative staff members.
OMRF's scientists, who include a member of the National Academy of Sciences, hold more than 700 U.S. and international patents and have spun off 11 biotech companies. Discoveries at OMRF led to Xigris, the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of severe sepsis, and Ceprotin, a therapy for people suffering from a rare and life-threatening blood disorder known as protein C deficiency. Research at OMRF also identified the enzyme believed responsible for Alzheimer's disease and laid the groundwork for OncoVue,[2] a breast cancer risk assessment test.
History
Beginning from discussions among the alumni of the University of Oklahoma Medical School in 1944, several doctors began to develop the idea of an independent research organization adjacent to - but separate from - the medical school. Led by Dr. Mark R. Everett, a Harvard Medical School grad who rose from professor to become dean of the OU Medical School in 1947,[3] they agreed on August 3, 1946, to incorporate as the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), a private, nonprofit, independent research institution in Oklahoma City. In April 1947 Oklahoma's Governor, Roy J. Turner became general chair of a statewide fund drive for OMRF that spanned all 77 of Oklahoma's counties. By May 1949, 7,000 Oklahomans had donated and pledged $2.35 million, and construction of OMRF began.
The Foundation officially began operations on July 3, 1949.[4]Sir Alexander Fleming, the British scientist who discovered penicillin, made his first visit to the United States to give the keynote address at the dedication. An estimated 2,500 people attended the ceremonies, where Fleming pronounced the future "bright," even though the first building was at the time, in the Nobel laureate's words, "just a big hole in the ground.".[5] Dr. Edward C. Reifenstein Jr., became the foundation's first director.
OMRF opened the doors of its first building on Dec. 17, 1950. Since that time, OMRF has grown from 5 principal scientists to 50, and its staff has grown from roughly two dozen employees to almost 500. Securing more than $30 million annually in competitive research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other granting agencies, OMRF is a member of the Association of Independent Research Institutes.[6] Its scientists focus on research in the areas of immunology, cardiovascular biology and diseases of aging.
Research
Alzheimer's and brain diseases
In 2000, Jordan J.N. Tang[7] and colleagues created an inhibitor that, in vitro, stopped the enzyme thought to cause Alzheimer's disease. The biotechnology company CoMentis[8] has since built on that discovery to create an experimental drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's. In 2007, Tang uncovered a molecular mechanism that links an Alzheimer's susceptibility gene (known as E4) to the process of disease onset. In OMRF's free radical biology and aging research program, Robert A. Floyd[9] leads a team of scientists who focus on the mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease).
Cancer and immunobiology
Technology developed in the laboratories of Eldon Jupe and Linda F. Thompson[10] led to the creation of a test for assessing breast cancer risk in women. Marketed as OncoVue, the test is produced by Intergenetics, Inc.,[11] and available in clinics the U.S. Paul W. Kincade[12] leads a group of immunologists in the study of the causes of lymphomas, leukemias and myelomas. With a research-grade magnetic resonance imaging facility, OMRF scientists are developing methods of using MRI to speed the process of identifying and treating brain, liver and bladder cancers. In 2006, molecular biologist Gary J. Gorbsky[13] and his lab were the first to reverse the process of cell division, a discovery detailed in the journal Nature that may have implications for the prevention and treatment of cancer and birth defects.
Heart and blood diseases
Led by Rodger P. McEver[14] and Charles T. Esmon[15] OMRF's cardiovascular biology research program works to pinpoint the origins of cardiovascular disease. Esmon's research has led to the development of two FDA-approved drugs: Xigris, a treatment for severe sepsis (blood poisoning), and Ceprotin, a therapy for children suffering from life-threatening blood-clotting complications.
Lupus and autoimmune diseases
OMRF's largest research program is dedicated to the study and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases. Led by physician-researchers Judith A. James[16] Robert Scofield[17] and Morris Reichlin[18] this group has identified antibodies that appear in the blood years before the clinical onset of lupus. They also are studying the role a common virus may play in triggering lupus. Their work led the National Institutes of Health to establish the Lupus Family Registry and Repository[19] at OMRF. The LFRR is a resource that scientists worldwide can use in their own lupus research. The collection includes DNA, sera, plasma, and data from systemic lupus patients, first degree relatives, and healthy volunteers. Study participation involves completing paperwork and donating a one-time blood sample.
Education programs
In 1956, OMRF established its Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar Program, a summer research training program for Oklahoma high school and college students.[20][21]
The 'Teen Leaders in Philanthropy' class was created in 2012 to let up to 40 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors develop hands-on leadership skills and an understanding of what a nonprofit organization does. The program gives participants a chance to learn from a variety of charitable organizations, donors and volunteers during nine sessions throughout the school year.[22][23]
OMRF also provides the training ground for graduate and postdoctoral students each year in the M.D./Ph.D Program at the University of Oklahoma Medical School.[24]
A 7-tesla MRI,[25] which uses a 10,000-pound magnet to generate a magnetic field that is 140,000 times stronger than the earth's and allows researchers to study the cells and organs of genetically engineered living mice and rats at microscopic levels without harming the animals;
BIACore[26] to measure affinity and binding kinetics of macromolecular interactions;
DNA Sequencing,[27] with the daily capacity to run 90 sequences;
Flow Cytometry,[28] with three instruments: the FACScan and FACSCalibur cytometers, capable of three and four color fluorescence analyses, and the MoFlo cytometer capable of high throughput cell sorting.;
Imaging,[29] to assist researchers with imaging needs ranging from basic light and electron microscopy to digital image processing and analysis;
In Situ Hybridization,[30] including tissue sectioning, slide mounting, and hybridization histochemistry;
Mouse Genome Manipulation Facility,[31] providing microinjection services of DNA into zygotes for the generation of transgenic mice, and of ES cells into blastocysts for the generation of knockout mice;
Molecular Biology Resource Facility, for protein and peptide sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis; and
Signal Transduction Core,[32] to assist research involving intracellular Ca2+ measurements and protein-protein interactions.
In society
OMRF is funded through grants and independent contributions. One of the more unusual contributions is a share in the royalties of the musical Oklahoma!. Oklahoma born playwright Lynn Riggs wrote the original play, "Green Grow The Lilacs," on which the musical was based. Upon his death, he willed his 1% royalty to his 4 siblings. When his brother William Edgar Riggs died, OMRF received rights to that one-quarter share. As of the end of 2018, it has generated over $700,000 in earnings.[33]
