DURANT, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) has named Southeastern Oklahoma State University junior Sara Moore a Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar for 2008.
Moore, of Norman, Oklahoma, is a member of the Honors Program at Southeastern under the direction of Dr. Lisa Coleman.
Moore had to write an essay, provide copies of her high school and college transcripts, supply two letters of recommendation and complete additional paperwork in the highly competitive selection process.
"I will be paired up with a mentor and we will work on some sort of (as yet undisclosed) science experiment," Moore said. "I have learned that my mentor is a specialist in the Lupus field. I do not know what exactly we will work on over my two-month summer internship, but generally speaking, I think this experience will be beneficial to my biotechnology interests. I have been interested in pursuing research as a career opportunity and this is a really good way to look into that as a possibility."
Nearly 100 science students from high schools and colleges throughout Oklahoma competed for a berth in the prestigious program, which has launched the careers of physicians and researchers for more than a half-century.
Since 1956, the Fleming Scholar Program has provided hands-on research experience for more than 450 gifted Oklahoma students. This yearıs class will spend June and July working in laboratories with senior-level OMRF scientists on ongoing research projects.
Scholars will receive a $3,000 stipend and housing, if needed, as part of the scholarship.
"These are the state's finest young science students, and these eight weeks will open their eyes and challenge them in new ways," said OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D.
"As they learn more about research, they also bring a shot of enthusiasm into our laboratories and ask questions that keep us on our toes."
Dr. Stanley Rice, Professor of Biology at Southeastern, said, "Sara wanted to do a research project and she joined in our study of oak resistance to insects. She actually seemed to enjoy counting thousands of little squares of graph paper on which we had traced the leaves.
"I will be reporting the results she helped us get at the national botany meetings this summer. I expect she will report on these results at the Oklahoma Academy of Science next fall. She is an award-winning speaker and I expect her to get first place. I consider Sara to be the best student-researcher with whom I have ever worked."
More than 100 Fleming Scholars have gone on to careers as biomedical researchers and physicians, including three current OMRF
scientists: Rodger McEver, M.D. (Oklahoma City, Fleming class of 1965); Judith James, M.D., Ph.D. (originally from Pond Creek, class of 1988); and Andrea Sestak, M.D., Ph.D. (Edmond, class of 1984).
Dr. Coleman said, "I am delighted that Sara Moore has been awarded one of nine Fleming Scholar Scholarships. She is the first student from the Southeastern Honors Program to receive this prestigious honor. We are very proud of Sara and her accomplishments."
