Darrin Akins Named Vice President for Research at OU Health Sciences Center

OKLAHOMA CITY – The University of Oklahoma announced today the appointment of Darrin Akins, Ph.D., as vice president for research at the OU Health Sciences Center, pending approval by the OU Board of Regents. A national search was conducted to fill the role, and Akins will begin serving in his new position on April 9.

An internationally recognized expert in Lyme disease, Akins joined the OU Health Sciences Center faculty in 1998 as a professor in the OU College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Over the past 25 years, he has been awarded over $58 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health – currently the most NIH funding awarded to the OU Health Sciences Center by a faculty member. In addition to his faculty position, Akins has served as associate vice president for research since 2021.

Since 2009, Akins has been the principal investigator of a $19 million NIH IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence award. The award – OK-INBRE – aims to increase the number of independently funded cancer, developmental biology and infectious diseases researchers in Oklahoma; improve statewide research infrastructure; and enhance the number and diversity of students who pursue biomedical research and health professional careers in Oklahoma.

“Dr. Akins’ international stature and impressive research funding, combined with his innovative vision to extend the OU Health Sciences Center’s research footprint across the nation and beyond, make him an ideal leader to accelerate these efforts,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “At OU, we are making incredible strides toward our goal to elevate the Health Sciences Center as a top-tier, research-driven academic health center, and having someone of Dr. Akins’ caliber leading the charge will fuel our progress to even greater heights.”

In his new role as vice president for HSC research, Akins will continue to run his research laboratory, which for the past two decades has primarily focused on identifying novel Lyme disease vaccine candidates or other disease modulating therapeutics. Most recently, his laboratory discovered two novel protein export systems in the organism that causes Lyme disease, which are currently being evaluated for the roles they play in this complex disease. He has been continually funded by multiple NIH awards since 2005 for his Lyme disease studies, and his peers have consistently recognized his work with national and regional awards.

Akins has contributed to the global advancement of biomedical research, having served on numerous NIH grant review panels. In the last 15 years, he has been a permanent standing member for two different NIH study sections. He also has been a permanent standing member of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Advisory Council and he has served on editorial boards for multiple journals. 

In addition to his position on the OU Health Sciences Center faculty, Akins has served in several administrative roles, including as the associate director for education and training at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center from 2019 to 2021, associate dean for research in the College of Medicine from 2011 to 2019, and was assistant dean of the OU Health Sciences Center Graduate College from 2007 to 2011.

Akins earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and his Ph.D. from UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. A member of the Cherokee Nation and Delaware Tribe, his Ph.D. studies were funded by an underrepresented minority fellowship from the NIH.