Our Mission

Across large areas of Oklahoma and the nation, primary care clinics are a lifeline, providing care for people who otherwise would have to travel many miles to see a doctor. To increase access to vital health care, the National Institutes of Health announced an ambitious new initiative to integrate NIH-funded clinical trials into routine patient care in medically underserved areas like rural Oklahoma and within Tribal nations.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Oklahoma a five-year, $17.2 million grant to partner with tribal nations and communities to improve cancer outcomes. Research has shown that the American Indian and Alaska Native population in Oklahoma experiences a 36% higher incidence of cancer and a 73% higher death rate from cancer than faced by the U.S. general population.

Judith A. James, M.D., Ph.D., associate vice provost for clinical and translational science and professor of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her work in the field of autoimmunity and autoimmune disorders.

She is the first woman from an Oklahoma institution – and fifth overall Oklahoma-based scientist – to be selected for this prestigious honor, which is widely considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.