College News

A new study from the University of Oklahoma reveals how a little-understood protein, CD82, contributes to blood vessel leakage, a process that initiates inflammation but becomes dangerous when it occurs during severe inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19. The findings, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, could open the door to new therapies aimed at protecting patients from multi-organ failure and death in severe and systemic inflammation.

Nearly 600 alumni, faculty, students and friends gathered on Sept. 4 at the Omni Oklahoma City Downtown Hotel for the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine’s Evening of Excellence. The annual gala was especially meaningful this year as the college celebrated its 125th anniversary and inducted four extraordinary leaders into its Hall of Fame.

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.