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Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Tops $27 Million in Federal Research Awards

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 21:00 CST

By Journal Record Staff

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has exceeded $27 million in research grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health for the second consecutive year.

OMRF secured 48 individual research awards totaling $27.4 million during 2005.

For a biomedical scientist, there is no greater seal of approval than a grant from the National Institutes of Health, said J. Donald Capra, OMRF president. The NIH is the world's leading supporter of medical research, and each grant is like a blue ribbon for our state.

OMRF's 47 principal researchers secured an average of $580,000 in NIH funding per scientist in 2005. The individual awards ranged from $26,000 to $2.8 million.

Research topics ranged from investigating methods to treat Alzheimer's disease to developing more effective ways to fight the bacterium that causes anthrax.

National Institutes of Health grants and contracts give our scientists the tools to achieve OMRF's mission-helping Oklahomans and people everywhere to live longer, healthier lives, said Capra.

Since 1998, when it secured $7.76 million in NIH grants and contracts, OMRF's NIH funding has grown at an average annual rate of more than 19 percent. OMRF's NIH funding ranks it among the top 20 independent medical research institutes in the United States.

The NIH funding process has always been fiercely competitive, and it's grown more so in recent years, said Capra. Yet even in the face of reduced granting budgets, our scientists have continued to excel.

In addition to the $27.4 million in NIH funds, OMRF obtained $6.9 million in competitive research funding from other sources, pushing its 2005 total past $34 million. The additional funding came primarily from three sources - nonprofits, pharmaceutical companies and federal and state agencies.

Each of our scientists is bringing an average in $725,000 in out- of-state funding to this state's economy, said Capra. OMRF is making a tremendous impact on Oklahoma's economy. And these dollars are not only creating jobs and stimulating business in the state-they're finding new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent deadly diseases.

OMRF will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2006.

Source: Journal Record - Oklahoma City

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