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OU College of Medicine

#1 Research University

In the State of Oklahoma

Funding

$177 Million in Total Sponsored Funding
$72 Million in NIH Funding

Rankings

4 Departments Ranked Top 25 
12 Departments Ranked Nationally 
By Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research

300+

Active Clinical Trials

It’s an exciting time at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. The college is making major, strategic investments to accelerate health research in key areas and to recruit exceptional scientific talent from around the world. As we expand our research enterprise, we are committed to driving discoveries that improve health outcomes, deepen scientific understanding, and strengthen the future of healthcare in Oklahoma and beyond.

A cornerstone of this momentum is Project 200, a bold initiative within the University of Oklahoma’s strategic plan to recruit the nation’s top researchers—innovators whose breakthroughs will change and save lives, fuel Oklahoma’s economy, and elevate OU among the country’s most impactful research institutions. 

Learn More About Project 200 Join OU Research

Areas of Focus

Through five basic science departments and 19 clinical departments across academic medicine, faculty conduct foundational, clinical, and translational research that moves ideas from bench to bedside.

Our teams are advancing discovery across the cancer continuum—uncovering risk factors, improving early detection, and developing next-generation immunotherapies and personalized treatments that transform patient outcomes.

Researchers are tackling diabetes and obesity at their roots, exploring metabolic pathways, genomic risk, therapeutic innovation, and interventions that prevent complications and improve long-term health.

neuroscience

From neurodegenerative disease to brain–AI interfaces, our scientists are decoding brain function, developing precision approaches to neurological care, and pioneering technologies that restore or enhance neural health.

We offer many promising research-based treatments are part of our seamless care. See information for accessing clinical trials being conducted in each area of our practice.

Biomedical 
Data Science & AI/ML

Our teams are advancing discovery across the cancer continuum—uncovering risk factors, improving early detection, and developing next-generation immunotherapies and personalized treatments that transform patient outcomes.

Molecular, Cellular & Biochemical Sciences

MCB scientists investigate life at its most fundamental levels—advancing integrative omics, aging biology, infectious disease research, synthetic biology, and computational genomics to fuel discovery across medicine.

Chronic Disease, Population Health & Health Services

Teams explore how biology, behavior, environment, and policy drive chronic disease—advancing solutions that reduce disparities, improve care delivery, and move communities toward better health.

An Environment Built for Breakthroughs

The College of Medicine is supported by state-of-the-art laboratory spaces designed to advance discovery and collaboration. Recent investments include more than 29,100 square feet of new laboratory space at University Research Park, part of a $55 million commitment to strengthening OU’s research infrastructure. Open-concept labs, advanced microscopy and cell culture suites, and shared collaboration areas support high-impact, team-based science and translational research.

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Research Resources

Find the resources you need to advance research at the OU College of Medicine, including regulatory support, core facilities, research centers, grant tools, and opportunities for students and trainees.

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Li Named President of International Association of Pancreatology

Li Named President of International Association of Pancreatology

Min Li, Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Associate Director for Global Oncology at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, has been named president of the International Association of Pancreatology...
OU Health Campus Explores AI’s Potential to Improve Health in Oklahoma

OU Health Campus Explores AI’s Potential to Improve Health in Oklahoma

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing healthcare, research and education, creating new opportunities to improve the health of Oklahomans while also raising important questions about its risks and responsible use. Those opportunities and challenges took center stage at the first AI Symposium...
Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses AI and health at OU Presidential Speakers Series dinner

Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses AI and health at OU Presidential Speakers Series dinner

The University of Oklahoma welcomed Siddhartha Mukherjee to campus for the Presidential Speakers Series dinner on the evening of Sept. 9 at the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Mukherjee — an oncologist, entrepreneur and Pulitzer Prize-winning author — delivered a talk titled “Research...
Protein Linked to Cell Death May Also Drive Liver Cancer

Protein Linked to Cell Death May Also Drive Liver Cancer

New research from the University of Oklahoma identifies a protein in liver cells that appears to help drive the development of liver cancer associated with obesity-related fatty liver disease. The finding, published in Hepatology, points to the protein as a potential new therapeutic target for...
Study Targets Prostate Cancer Screening Gap Among Black Men

Study Targets Prostate Cancer Screening Gap Among Black Men

A newly funded study at the University of Oklahoma aims to increase prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening among Black men in Oklahoma, who die from prostate cancer at rates two to four times higher than other racial groups. An interactive app called Connect2Care may hold the key to early...
Study Aims to Empower Parents to Prevent Teen Vaping

Study Aims to Empower Parents to Prevent Teen Vaping

Parents are an important line of defense against teen vaping, yet many lack the knowledge and tools needed to recognize vaping products, understand their risks and prevent their children from using them. A new University of Oklahoma study will examine whether targeted social media messages can...
Researcher Investigates How Mother’s Diet Shapes Liver Health

Researcher Investigates How Mother’s Diet Shapes Liver Health

University of Oklahoma researcher Keenan Greyslak, Ph.D., has long been interested in how a mother’s diet during pregnancy and lactation may influence a child’s risk of developing metabolic diseases earlier and more severely as they age. With a new grant from the National Institutes...
$2 Million NCI Grant Funds Research on How Pancreatic Cancer Uses Cholesterol to Survive

$2 Million NCI Grant Funds Research on How Pancreatic Cancer Uses Cholesterol to Survive

A University of Oklahoma researcher has received a five-year, $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate how pancreatic cancer uses cholesterol to survive chemotherapy. By uncovering how tumors use this essential nutrient to grow and evade treatment, the research could...
Researchers Discover How Tumors Enlist Nerves to Keep Growing

Researchers Discover How Tumors Enlist Nerves to Keep Growing

New research from the University of Oklahoma demonstrates how an aggressive form of breast cancer co-opts the body’s own immune system to attract nerves that fuel tumor growth.
OU Hosts Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Showcases Statewide Health Efforts

OU Hosts Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Showcases Statewide Health Efforts

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, visited the OU Health Campus on Saturday, Aug. 1 to learn more about the University of Oklahoma’s flagship academic health system and its efforts to improve health outcomes across the state. Oz was joined by...
OU Researcher Joins $12 Million Effort to Advance Obesity Drug Discovery

OU Researcher Joins $12 Million Effort to Advance Obesity Drug Discovery

A University of Oklahoma researcher is part of an international team developing a new way to discover obesity drugs using human cells instead of animal models, an approach that could speed the development of more effective and affordable treatments. The effort is supported by a $12 million grant...
Researchers Discover Hidden ‘Recycling System’ That Helps Keep Vision Cells Healthy

Researchers Discover Hidden ‘Recycling System’ That Helps Keep Vision Cells Healthy

For decades, scientists believed that photoreceptors in the retina relied primarily on neighboring support cells, known as the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), to remove waste. While the RPE is still responsible for clearing away the worn-out tips of photoreceptors each day, new findings from...
Human Study Links Reduced Inflammation to Later Myopia Onset

Human Study Links Reduced Inflammation to Later Myopia Onset

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine researcher Jody Summers, Ph.D., has long hypothesized that inflammation plays a role in the development of myopia, or nearsightedness, in which close-up vision is clear but distance vision is blurry. Her laboratory experiments have been convincing, and...
NIH Awards OU College of Medicine $10.7 Million to Advance Sensory Biology Research

NIH Awards OU College of Medicine $10.7 Million to Advance Sensory Biology Research

The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $10.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the Oklahoma Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Sensory Biology. The center will serve as a hub for research into how cells sense and respond...
Clinical Trial to Evaluate Immunotherapy Drug for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Following Surgery

Clinical Trial to Evaluate Immunotherapy Drug for Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Following Surgery

Muhammad Furqan, M.D., professor of hematology-oncology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Associate Director of Clinical Research at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, is leading a national clinical trial evaluating whether immunotherapy can improve outcomes for patients...
Study Uncovers Chain Reaction That Connects Smoking to Heart Disease

Study Uncovers Chain Reaction That Connects Smoking to Heart Disease

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma have identified a previously unrecognized immune system pathway that helps explain how cigarette smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The findings, published in Circulation Research, show that cigarette smoke activates immune cells that...
Experimental Treatment Strategy Shows Promise Against Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

Experimental Treatment Strategy Shows Promise Against Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

An experimental treatment strategy for metastatic pancreatic cancer may help patients live longer by making tumors more visible to the immune system, according to a study published in Nature Medicine. OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center enrolled patients on the clinical trial, which studied a new...
Microplastics May Worsen Fatty Liver Disease, New Study Suggests

Microplastics May Worsen Fatty Liver Disease, New Study Suggests

Microplastics – minuscule pieces of plastic broken down from larger plastic waste – are a growing concern for human health, especially for the liver. A study from the University of Oklahoma, published today in Science Advances, demonstrates that a common type of microplastics is...
Family History of Vision Loss Inspires Researcher’s Fight Against Macular Degeneration

Family History of Vision Loss Inspires Researcher’s Fight Against Macular Degeneration

University of Oklahoma researcher Wenjing “Lily” Wu, Ph.D., who studies age-related macular degeneration (AMD), isn’t driven solely by scientific curiosity but also by vision loss that has affected generations of her family.
OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Names New Director to Lead Fight Against Diabetes

OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Names New Director to Lead Fight Against Diabetes

Building on its two-decade journey from a philanthropic vision to a worldwide research enterprise committed to preventing, treating, and curing diabetes, the University of Oklahoma Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center has named John P. Kirwan, Ph.D., FACSM, a world-leading translational scientist,...