Skip to content
i2E
  • Programs
    • E3
    • ACT Tulsa
    • Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio
  • Services
    • Access to Funding
    • Venture Advisory Services
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Contact
  • Media
Menu
  • Programs
    • E3
    • ACT Tulsa
    • Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup
    • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio
  • Services
    • Access to Funding
    • Venture Advisory Services
  • About
    • Our Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Corporate Partners
  • Contact
  • Media
Search

Presbyterian Health Foundation awards $4.6 million in new research grants

Get in Touch

Contact: April Stuart
(405) 319-8260
astuart@phfokc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 20, 2020: The Presbyterian Health Foundation has awarded nearly $4.6 million in biomedical research grants to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF).

“We remain steadfastly committed to funding cutting-edge biomedical research on the Oklahoma Health Center campus,” said PHF President Tom R. Gray III. “The proposals presented this round were enthusiastically received by our Scientific Advisory Committee, in particular the collaborative and team science projects.”

A major funder of research programs at the Oklahoma Health Center, PHF has awarded more than $25 million to support biomedical research in Oklahoma since 2014.

The foundation received proposals for seed grants, bridge grants, equipment grants and collaborative and team science grants in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, plus a new area of emphasis, COVID-19. A total of 70 grants were approved and funded.

At OMRF, a collaborative project is underway to discover how a viral pandemic like COVID-19 affects people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Led by associate members of OMRF’s arthritis and clinical immunology program, Robert Axtell, Ph.D., and Susan Kovats, Ph.D., the project will investigate the severity of a respiratory virus in people with MS and provide insights into how to treat COVID-19 in people living with the disease.

“Many MS patients are on immune-modifying therapies to treat their MS-specific pathologies, but it is unclear if these MS therapies would help or hinder a viral infection like COVID-19,” said Axtell. “Susan and I are using our individual expertise in MS and viral infections to tackle this very question.”

Another project underway has scientists from OUHSC and Harvard University Medical Center (HUMC) joining efforts to study the connection between an infant’s microbiome and acquired immunity, which may be established during the first few days of life. The team of scientists include OUHSC researchers Jacob Friedman, Ph.D., Karen Jonscher, Ph.D., and HUMC researcher William Robins, Ph.D. The team is studying the impact of the developing immune system and resulting immune responses and metabolic disorders that may develop later in adulthood.

“Our current work supports the presence of a critical developmental window when disruption of the normal infant microbiome in babies born to obese mothers may predispose the infant to a number of immune diseases,” said Friedman, director of Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. “Although multiple pathways are involved, we hope to understand how certain early bacteria can underlie development of a number of inflammatory disorders, including obesity, Type 1 diabetes, and fatty liver disease.”

“We are ecstatic about the science presented this round and the evolution of discovery we’ve seen over the past few years,” said PHF Scientific Advisory Committee Chairman Jerry Vannatta, M.D. “Many of the funded projects are gaining discovery momentum, generating extramural funding and producing meaningful results.”

As funding sources continue to tighten, PHF is confident its granting capacity for medical research will continue to grow.

“Private foundations like PHF play a critical role in supporting medical research advancement,” said Gray. “Our contributions are enabling researchers to achieve important progress for public health. We’re happy to continue supporting Oklahoma’s researchers and know their discoveries are translating into better quality of life for all Oklahomans.”

###

About Presbyterian Health Foundation
Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF) is an Oklahoma City based private foundation that provides grants to accelerate the journey of scientific discovery from ideas to innovations that save and enhance life. Since 1985, PHF has awarded over $170 million to biotechnology and medical research organizations in Oklahoma with an emphasis on the Oklahoma Health Center. For more information, please visit phfokc.com.

About OU Health Sciences Center
One of nation’s few academic health centers with seven professional colleges — Allied Health, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Graduate Studies — the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center serves approximately 4,000 students in more than 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs on campuses in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. For more information, visit ouhsc.edu.

About OMRF
OMRF (omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human diseases. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as cancer, diseases of aging, lupus and cardiovascular disease.

Author

  • Sarah Graves Sarah Graves

More News

Loading...
woman in lab conducting a study
Blog, i2E
12.13.22

Bayesic Technologies Improves Effectiveness and Efficiency of Data Analysis in Healthcare

Read more
Bison grazing fields
Blog
11.30.22

Bison Underground Merges Nature, Science, and Technology to Tackle Climate Change

Read more
African American family sitting on couch reading and chatting
Blog, E3, i2E
11.22.22

Fokes Connects Families, Caregivers and Care Agencies for Smoother Communications and Care 

Read more
i2e blog post graphic
Blog, News
11.03.22

Introducing: Stories of Oklahoma Innovation

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.28.22

Oklahoma Grown! i2E Invests in BIO startups

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Moleculera Labs BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Oklahoma State University BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

ECHO Investment Capital BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

AscendBioVentures BIO

Read more
Default Featured Image
OKBio
06.13.22

Dean McGee Eye Institute BIO

Read more
i2E

Oklahoma City Office

840 Research Parkway, Suite 250
OKC, OK 73104
+1 (405) 235.2305

Tulsa Office

100 S. Cincinnati Ave – Suite 514
Tulsa, OK 74103
+1 (918) 582.5592

  • Client Portfolio
  • About Us
  • Media
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Resources

© 2022 i2E Privacy Policy

Follow us:

Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Programs

  • E3
  • ACT Tulsa
  • Love's Entrepreneur's Cup
  • OKBio
  • Client Portfolio

Services

  • Access to Funding
  • Venture Advisory Services
  • Contact
  • About
  • Our Values
  • Our Team
  • Board of Directors
  • Corporate Partners
  • Media
i2E