Surveying existing areas of strength in the life sciences at OU in the context of numerous global grand challenges to improving human health, we identified three areas where supporting and enhancing the convergent efforts of diverse disciplines and research groups across campus would position OU as a leading institution for developing solutions.
Currently, the kind of community-engaged, organized and integrative interdisciplinary research necessary to fully address socioeconomic health disparities is lacking nationally, and OU is poised to provide leadership in this transdisciplinary venture by connecting researchers in the life sciences, social sciences and industry to partner with Oklahoma’s diverse communities to make progress on health inequalities. This will require convergent efforts to identify the causes and consequences of socioeconomic health disparities, situate them in the rich ecological analyses in which our faculty are also expert, and develop knowledge relevant to reducing or eliminating these disparities by partnering with Oklahoma’s many unique communities.
This approach offers significant opportunities both for improving the health of Oklahomans, as well as advancing the kind of interdisciplinary research required for real progress in health disparities nationally and globally. Because of the strength of our many existing community partnerships for social and behavioral research, we have an opportunity to connect meaningful work in the life sciences to advance research in these areas. In particular, we see important opportunities for OU to become a national leader in the sciences relevant to understanding and addressing disparities in our unique communities, which include tribal and rural populations, and make a commitment to investments in health and human development that are unrivalled in the nation.
An important global grand challenge in the life sciences is the molecular identification, characterization and manipulation of cellular pathways that lead to disease. OU is uniquely positioned for work on the rational development of new drugs and technologies that improve the human condition. We house many high-performing research groups that work on some of the world’s deadliest diseases. OU also has a top-25 business school and a strong, emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem to facilitate the transfer of this fundamental research into products, services and businesses.
Our fundamental research in cancer is primed for new discoveries in molecular and cell sciences, technology development, and technology transfer, and is thus uniquely positioned as the initial testbed for this global challenge. Method development for the accurate detection and diagnosis of early-stage cancer is critical, especially in Oklahoma, as we have the nation’s eighth-highest cancer mortality rate. Further, fundamental cancer research at OU significantly complements clinical research trials and patient care provided at Stephenson Cancer Center. Other areas of research strength, including the brain, antibiotic resistance and natural medicines, also support a strategic focus on cancer research. By eliminating organizational and behavioral barriers that limit efficient translation of basic research into available health technologies, our goal is to develop cancer research at OU into a nationally recognized powerhouse in both the basic science and the translation of that science into products and services that will improve the lives of people in Oklahoma and beyond.
Population growth, human behavior, global mobility and climate change are accelerating the emergence and migration of pathogenic threats, including drug-resistant bacteria, rapidly evolving viral pathogens and the geographical expansion of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases when host organisms such as insects and birds expand their ranges. Understanding and addressing this challenge requires innovative approaches that range from microscopic to planetary scales, and address phenomena ranging from DNA to the global climate system.
OU has significant research strengths across these dimensions. Research is required to accelerate the development of methods to predict, prevent and respond to t hese emerging health threats by conducting integrative research over a range of scales and capitalizing on OU’s unique, transdisciplinary strengths in climate science, prediction and tracking of animal vector movement, microbial resistance to antibiotics, and developing novel therapeutics to overcome resistant pathogens. At the same time, one must exploit the natural laboratory that Oklahoma provides as a biogeographic crossroads where new disease vectors and pathogens are currently emerging. The results of this endeavor will benefit Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
