A researcher at the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy at OU Health Sciences is playing a key role in a preclinical trial that is testing a non-addictive drug to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder. Recent findings from the trial are promising: The drug reduces symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder like anxiety and increased pain sensitivity, while also decreasing alcohol consumption.

The University of Oklahoma announced today the appointment of Ian F. Dunn, M.D., FACS, FAANS, as executive dean of the OU College of Medicine, pending OU Board of Regents’ approval. Dunn will begin serving in his new position on Jan. 15.

Amanda Janitz, Ph.D., MPH, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma, was awarded an approximate $400,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. This two-year developmental research grant is dedicated to a vital research study aimed at identifying barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination within American Indian or Alaska Native populations, with the ultimate goal of improving access to these essential services.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences is proud to announce that two of its esteemed faculty members, Valerie Williams, Ph.D., MPA, vice provost for academic affairs and faculty development at OU Health Sciences, and Ronald Kingsley, M.D., clinical professor in the College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, have been recognized as honorees at the “55 Over 55 Inspiring Oklahomans” event.

OU researchers have received a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a research center to address children’s cumulative health impacts from agricultural and non-chemical exposures. This grant will create the Children’s Environmental Health Center in the U.S. Southern Great Plains, which includes Oklahoma and Texas. The Center will focus on mitigating the chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect school absenteeism caused by gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.