Research foundation receives millions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has been awarded 27-point-7 (m) million to help find treatment for cancer, arthritis, heart disease, strokes, diabetes and Alzheimer's

Friday, October 15th 2004, 6:14 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has been awarded 27-point-7 (m) million to help find treatment for cancer, arthritis, heart disease, strokes, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Doctor John Harley, a foundation immunologist says the research dollars means important discoveries will be made in Oklahoma.

The 27-point-7 (m) million dollars in 2004 is more than last year's allocation of 25-point-6 (m) million dollars from the National Institutes of Health.

Doctor Rodger McEver, a cardiovascular biologist, has received more than 4-point-1 (m) million dollars to explore causes of heart attacks and strokes.

Nationwide the N-I-H funded only 30 percent of all grant applications that medical scientists submitted in 2003.

Since 1998, when O-M-R-F got 7-point-8 (m) million dollars in N-I-H grants and contracts, the foundation's increase in federal funding has outpaced every major medical research institution in the country except The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.