LAWTON, Feb. 23, 2024 — The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation celebrated its 77th anniversary in Lawton on Feb. 22 as part of its statewide “77 for 77” campaign that harkens back to the foundation’s roots.
“Over this anniversary year, we’re going to touch all 77 Oklahoma counties to say ‘thank you’ to Oklahomans for daring to dream in 1946 and for supporting that dream ever since,” said OMRF President Andrew Weyrich, Ph.D.
On Aug. 28, 1946, the Oklahoma Secretary of State granted OMRF’s charter. Shortly thereafter, the new foundation launched its initial campaign with a mission that holds true 77 years later: “That more may live longer.” Organizers divided the state into 25 districts to raise awareness and funds. Through this effort, more than 7,500 Oklahomans raised $2 million in gifts and pledges, enough to begin building and staffing OMRF’s headquarters. Today, adjusted for inflation, that initial fund drive would be worth more than $25 million.
“To the best of our knowledge, OMRF is the only one of the more than 80 independent research institutes across the U.S. created from a statewide campaign,” Weyrich said.
Today, OMRF employs nearly 500 staff members who study cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and diseases of aging. Their discoveries have yielded diagnostic tests and three life-saving drugs available in hospitals and clinics worldwide. In the foundation’s Rheumatology and Multiple Sclerosis centers, clinicians care for more than 3,000 patients from across the state with autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and MS.
The 1940s campaign to launch OMRF is a blueprint for 77 for 77, which kicked off on Aug. 28, 2023, at the foundation’s Oklahoma City headquarters. As in the ’40s, OMRF has divided the state into districts with local chairs. District chair for the Lawton area is Mark Brace, BancFirst’s Lawton president and regional executive.
“OMRF is a leader of innovation and scientific progress,” Brace said. “Its scientists have made a difference for people worldwide. Locally, the foundation supports nearly 500 jobs and makes an annual contribution of $165 million to the state economy. It’s an organization we can all be proud of.”
The nonprofit foundation has deep connections in Lawton and the surrounding communities. Thirteen people from the area have served as OMRF Board members, and 19 local students have served summer internships in OMRF labs through the foundation’s Sir Alexander Fleming Scholars program. Lawton High School raised funds for OMRF in the 1950s by passing donation buckets at its football games, and in the following decade, local wheat farmers donated a portion of the proceeds from their crops to OMRF to benefit the foundation’s research.
Speaking at the event was OMRF scientist Darise Farris, Ph.D., a Lawton native who credits her physics and human anatomy teachers for inspiring her career path. Today, Farris holds the Alvin Chang Chair in Biomedical Research at OMRF. Her lab studies Sjögren’s disease, an autoimmune condition that causes painful dry eyes and mouth, fatigue, and arthritis.
“During my senior year at Lawton High, we were assigned to write a term paper on a scientific topic,” she said. “The project required studying scientific literature to understand the topic. I found that I really enjoyed it. In fact, it was the beginning of a process that is central to my work today.”
Statewide chairs for the 77 for 77 campaign are former First Ladies Kim Henry and Cathy Keating and former Governors Brad Henry and Frank Keating.
Kim Henry, a former teacher who served on OMRF’s Board for 19 years and joined its National Advisory Council in 2022, is shepherding a component of 77 for 77 designed to introduce younger Oklahomans to OMRF. Underwritten by Sarkeys Foundation, the foundation created a hands-on science experiment kit for seventh-grade science classes. OMRF piloted the program in Marlow Public Schools and Putnam City Schools last fall. It is now expanding to schools in 25 focus cities.
“This is a win-win for Oklahoma students,” Kim Henry said. “We’ll inject critical support into our schools and open new avenues of learning for thousands of Oklahoma students.”
Cathy Keating served on OMRF’s Board for two years and joined its National Advisory Council in 2011.
“OMRF is one of Oklahoma’s crown jewels, and every Oklahoman should take pride in the work done here,” Cathy Keating said. “I hope that over the next year, thousands more Oklahomans will recognize the world-class medical research taking place right here in their home state.