College News

Researchers from the University of Oklahoma Health Campus have published an article and podcast in the New England Journal of Medicine describing a novel care coordination and communication program and its potential for helping Indigenous people access the lifesaving cancer care that they need.

University of Oklahoma Health Campus Ph.D. candidate Alex Arreola has earned a prestigious National Cancer Institute grant – one of only 15 awarded nationwide this year. He is the first trainee from OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center to receive the honor, which will support his doctoral and postdoctoral training in experimental oncology and pathology.

A University of Oklahoma study published today in JAMA Surgery reports that acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) – a blood-saving method in which a patient’s blood is collected before going on heart-lung bypass and reinfused near the end of cardiac surgery – remains underused in the United States at 14.7%. Yet the study found that ANH lowered the likelihood of a transfusion by 27%, a decrease in blood use that could cut costs substantially while still protecting patient safety and outcomes.

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), a rare and aggressive type of lung cancer, has a high chance of metastasis, no standard treatment and a poor survival rate. A study published in Nature Communications provides a new understanding of the disease and uncovers a potential target for treatment.

Amylin, a hormone that controls appetite and blood sugar by activating three different receptors in the brain, could be the basis for the next blockbuster obesity drugs. A University of Oklahoma study published today in the journal Science Signaling reveals a new understanding of how amylin receptors react upon being activated, an advancement that will be crucial to the field of drug development.