BUSINESS BRIEFS
OMRF grant to help with lab startup costs
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has received a $6,000 grant from The Kirschner Trusts.
The one-time grant will help OMRF scientist Jian Li, Ph.D., with startup costs and laboratory equipment to help launch his new lab at the Oklahoma City-based nonprofit. Li joined OMRF’s Functional and Chemical Genomics Program in 2017 from Northwestern University in Chicago.
At OMRF, Li is studying the basic cellular mechanisms underlying cancer and neurodegeneration. Li studies these diseases using cellular and animal models, including a type of roundworms called C. elegans.
The five Kirschner Trusts have supported charitable projects in the Muskogee area since 1979. In 2013, the assets of three of the Kirschner Trusts were transferred to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to establish the E. Phil and Roberta Kirschner Foundation Affiliated Fund.
Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations that provide direct services in the areas of social services, youth and education, health and disabilities, and Jewish culture and religion, with a preference for programs in Muskogee and the surrounding area.
AgVocacy Seminar will be Feb. 8 in Yukon
YUKON — The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation is hosting an AgVocacy Seminar on Feb. 8 at Cimarron Fields Event Barn, 5120 S Cimarron Road in Yukon. The seminar will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude by 4 p.m.
“AgVocacy is a term used to describe the act of being an advocate for agriculture,” said Tiffani Pruitt, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Coordinator. “Agriculturalists continue to improve efficiency on farms and ranches and grow more crops and livestock with less resources. As efficiency goes up, the number of people engaged in production agriculture decreases and the agriculture education gap gets deeper and wider.”
The three speakers for the day are engaged agriculturalists concerned about agriculture literacy, or the public’s knowledge of agriculture, Pruitt said.
The cost to attend the event is $25. Lunch will be included. To learn more and register, visit www. okcattlemen.org or call 405235-4391 by Feb. 2.
The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation, founded in 1979, is a charitable arm of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and is funded by personal contributions.
Future III phase helps to create direct jobs
TULSA — Tulsa’s Future III, the third phase of a regional economic development plan led by the Tulsa Regional Chamber, helped create 4,897 direct jobs in 2017, an almost 30 percent increase over 2016, the organization said Tuesday.
The Tulsa’s Future plan has provided support for the creation of more than 53,000 jobs in Tulsa since its inception in 2005, the group said.
Recent highlights of Tulsa’s Future support include assistance with DISH Network’s expansion, which added 250 new jobs; Ingredion’s move to Oklahoma, which brought 60 jobs; and Greenheck Group’s manufacturing campus groundbreaking, which brought 75 new jobs.
An analysis of the economic impact of Tulsa’s Future shows 4,897 quality jobs created last year, infusing an estimated $536.4 million of labor income into the regional economy in 2017 alone.
CNTS secures Army support contract
TULSA — Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions is one of six companies awarded a $249 million contract supporting research activities at four Army medical agencies over the next 10 years.
“We are proud to support the Army and to serve an integral role in maintaining and promoting the health and well-being of our service members and their families,” said John Hansen, operations general manager for Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions. “This award builds on our existing relationship with the Department of Defense and our growing reputation as a premier provider in the field of medical research.”
Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions will work to boost the health and well-being of soldiers and military retirees, their families, and Department of the Army civilian employees. The four participating agencies — the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, the U.S. Army Public Health Center, and the Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence — can award task orders through the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.
Cherokee Nation Technology Solutions will have an opportunity to provide biomedical research and surveillance, information management, and business operations and information technology activities in support of burn, trauma and combat casualty care and rehabilitation, chemical warfare mitigation, and public health services.