Presbyterian Health Foundation Awards $500,000 to Okla. Medical Research Foundation

<title>Presbyterian Health Foundation Awards $500,000 to Okla. Medical Research Foundation</title>
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<br>Presbyterian Health Foundation Awards $500,000 to Okla. Medical Research Foundation
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        <h4>Presbyterian Health Foundation Awards $500,000 to Okla. Medical Research Foundation</h4>
        <p><i>Jan 04, 02:02 PM</i></p>
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        The Presbyterian Health Foundation has approved a $500,000 grant to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.  The award will provide startup funds for a new OMRF scientist, Dario Ramirez. He will join OMRF from the National Institutes of Health this winter. Ramirez holds a doctorate in biochemistry and an master's degree in immunology. He has spent six years as a scientist at the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health in Research Triangle Park, N.C. He currently holds the title of senior research fellow at the NIH. <P> Ramirez's research focuses on environmental stressors and chronic inflammation, particularly in the lungs. His expertise will help OMRF build new research strength in the field of molecular medicine, an emerging discipline that focuses on translating discoveries at the molecular level into new methods of diagnosing and treating disease. <P> "Molecular medicine will play a key role in a new era of personalized medicine, one in which therapies are tailored to patients' individual gene maps," said Presbyterian Health Foundation President Michael Anderson. "This $500,000 grant will develop new opportunities at OMRF and in Oklahoma, and we expect that researchers trained in molecular medicine will be able to develop and use novel gene- and cell-based therapeutics to treat life- threatening diseases." <P> Ramirez is one of only three scientists in the U.S. who holds an "NIH Pathway for Independence Award," a competitive grant he won following a nationwide competition involving hundreds of researchers. This grant will provide $750,000 to fund his research over a three-year period. The $500,000 grant from the Presbyterian Health Foundation will be used to help Ramirez establish his laboratory at OMRF, to purchase scientific equipment and supplies, and to hire technical staff and post-doctoral researchers. <P> Originally published by Journal Record Staff. <P> (c) 2007 Journal Record - Oklahoma City. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
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Presbyterian Health Foundation Awards $500,000 to Okla. Medical Research Foundation<br>
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