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Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
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, 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, a breast cancer risk assessment test.
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, 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. 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.". 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. Its scientists focus on research in the areas of immunology, cardiovascular biology and diseases of aging.
OMRF conducts its research across five different divisions: Aging & Metabolism, Arthritis & Clinical Immunology, Cardiovascular Biology, Cell Cycle & Cancer Biology, and Genes & Human Disease.
In 2000, OMRF researchers created an inhibitor that, in vitro, stopped an enzyme thought to lead to progression of Alzheimer's disease. In 2007, OMRF researchers found evidence of a molecular mechanism that links a gene called “E4” to the onset of Alzheimer’s.
In 2023, OMRF researchers received a grant from the Alzheimer's Association to study the connection between estrogen and Alzheimer’s in postmenopausal women.
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Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
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, 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, a breast cancer risk assessment test.
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, 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. 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.". 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. Its scientists focus on research in the areas of immunology, cardiovascular biology and diseases of aging.
OMRF conducts its research across five different divisions: Aging & Metabolism, Arthritis & Clinical Immunology, Cardiovascular Biology, Cell Cycle & Cancer Biology, and Genes & Human Disease.
In 2000, OMRF researchers created an inhibitor that, in vitro, stopped an enzyme thought to lead to progression of Alzheimer's disease. In 2007, OMRF researchers found evidence of a molecular mechanism that links a gene called “E4” to the onset of Alzheimer’s.
In 2023, OMRF researchers received a grant from the Alzheimer's Association to study the connection between estrogen and Alzheimer’s in postmenopausal women.