LATEST FIVE PLUS FIVE DAY. ALL RIGHT JONATHAN THANK YOU. WELL GETTING UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS INTO SUMMER LAB INTERNSHIPS WITH THE GOAL OF CREATING MORE DIVERSITY IN LABS ACROSS OMRF. AND THIS MORNING WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING THE LAB’S PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM WITH LANGSTON UNIVERSITY. SO IN STUDIO WE HAVE DOCTOR VALERIE LEWIS AND NATALIE HEATH. THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING ON SUCH AN AMAZING PROGRAM THAT YOU’RE A PART OF AND THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER ESSENTIALLY. SO WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU, DOCTOR LEWIS, TALK MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. OKAY. SO THE PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2020 AND IT STARTED WITH OUR OUR PREVIOUS FORMER PRESIDENT, THE LATE DOCTOR STEPHEN PRESCOTT. HE ESTABLISHED AN OUTREACH COMMITTEE BECAUSE HIS GOAL WAS TO AGAIN CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS FELT COMFORTABLE COMING IN AND GIVING THEM RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. IT ALSO, UM, IT’S IMPORTANT JUST BECAUSE THESE WHAT ULMER’S GOAL IS, IS TO, UM, BASICALLY HAVE THE SCIENTIST LOOK LIKE THE POPULATION, THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE. SO JUST TO HELP INCREASE DIVERSITY BY COMING OVER TO YOU, YOU HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE PROGRAM FOR THREE YEARS. YOU’RE A SENIOR NOW AT LANGSTON UNIVERSITY. GO LIONS. AND I DO WANT TO ASK YOU JUST ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE. SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE ON A DAY TO DAY AND WHAT ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT YOU’RE REALLY PROUD ABOUT THAT YOU’VE WORKED ON IN THE LAB? YES. SO I HAVE BEEN IN THE PROGRAM FOR THREE YEARS NOW. MY FIRST YEAR I CAME IN INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT A PLANT BASED PROJECT, AND SO I WANTED TO LOOK AT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, AND WE’RE LOOKING MORE SPECIFICALLY AT CIGARETTE SMOKE AND HOW IT AFFECTS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. SO THE FIRST YEAR I CAME IN WORKING ON A PROJECT, READING LAB PAPERS AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT PROJECT WILL TURN OUT, WHICH IT WAS SUCCESSFUL. MY SECOND YEAR, I WENT BACK AND I WAS ABLE TO WORK ON DIFFERENT LAB SKILLS, LOOKING AT THE WAY THAT DIFFERENT THINGS WORK AND HELPING WITH DIFFERENT PROJECTS WITH DIFFERENT MENTORS. AND THEN MY THIRD YEAR, WHICH WAS THIS PREVIOUS YEAR, I WENT BACK AND FOLLOWED UP ON THE FIRST QUESTION THAT WE HAD FROM MY FIRST RESEARCH PROJECT, WHICH IS NOW LOOKING AT EXOSOMES. AND SO NOW I’VE BEEN ABLE TO GO TO DIFFERENT CONFERENCES IN DIFFERENT STATES, DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, AND ALSO BEING ABLE TO GET THIS OPPORTUNITY AS WELL. JARRED HILL JUST TELL ME ABOUT JUST HOW THIS PROGRAM HAS HELPED YOU SO MUCH BECAUSE YOU’RE ABOUT TO GRADUATE. ARE YOU GOING TO STAY IN THE MEDICAL FIELD? THE SCIENTIFIC FIELD? I KNOW WE HAD TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT. I KIND OF SPOILED IT FOR YOU, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU’RE GOING TO STAY IN THIS FIELD BUT ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW WITHOUT THIS PROGRAM, DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN HARDER FOR YOU TO BREAK INTO THE FIELD? SO YES, I WILL SAY THAT IT WILL. IT HAS HELPED ME IN A TREMENDOUS WAY. IT HAS ALLOWED ME TO GAIN MY PUBLIC SKILLS, SPEAKING MY PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS, MY ABILITY TO REACH WITH OTHER CONNECTIONS AND MENTORSHIP. IT HAS ALSO HELPED ME TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORSHIP AND KEEPING THOSE CONNECTIONS. I WILL BE GOING ON TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE OF EVERYTHING AND THE CLINICAL SETTING. AND THEN ALSO JUST MORE OUTREACH, MORE MENTORSHIP, AND FURTHERING MY CONNECTION WITH AND I’M SURE YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE AN EXTRA LEG UP ON PEOPLE IN THE CLASSROOM BECAUSE YOU’RE SUPER CONFIDENT IN THE LAB, ARE YOU NOT? YES, YES I AM. ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR LOUIS, I WANT TO COME OVER TO YOU AND TALK ABOUT YOU ALL WERE JUST APPROVED FOR FIVE MORE YEARS OF FUNDING. OKAY? PLUS A 50% INCREASE. SO $120,000 A YEAR. THAT IS HUGE. TALK ABOUT HOW THIS INVESTMENT. IT JUST SHOWS HOW IMPORTANT THIS PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP IS. SO IT’S IT’S VERY EXCITING BECAUSE NOW WE HAVE WE STARTED OUT I THINK OUR FIRST YEAR WITH MAYBE FIVE STUDENTS. AND THIS YEAR WE HAD NINE. BUT EVERY YEAR THE PROGRAM IS GROWING. AND SO BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS BUDGET INCREASE, WE CAN NOW GET MORE STUDENTS INVOLVED. WE CAN EXPAND NOT ONLY RIGHT NOW, WE WORK JUST WITH LANGSTON UNIVERSITY, BUT WE CAN EXPAND, EXPAND TO OTHER MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS OR JUST OTHER COLLEGES THAT HAVE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES THAT NEED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. SO IT IS A BIG DEAL. IT’S EXCITING. OKAY. AND WE JUST HAVE A FEW MORE SECONDS HERE. I DO WANT TO GET TO YOU TO TALK ABOUT WHERE PEOPLE CAN FIND AN APPLICATION, BECAUSE APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN, THEY’RE GOING TO BE DUE IN FEBRUARY. NOW THEY’RE ONLY OPEN TO LANGSTON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. ABSOLUTELY. SO AT ARDMORE, WE HAVE THE LANGSTON SCHOLAR PROGRAM. WE ALSO HAVE A FLEMING SCHOLAR PROGRAM THAT IS FOR I BELIEVE IT’S GRADUATING SENIORS AND FRESHMEN IN COLLEGE. AND THERE ALSO IS A SAXON SCHOLAR PROGRAM THAT IS INCLUDES OUR MILITARY STUDENTS. SO ANYBODY THAT’S IN MILITARY, UM, PROGRAM ACADEMY CAN APPLY TO THAT PROGRAM. THAT’S A RESIDENT OF OKLAHOMA. OKAY. AND SO, YEAH, LANGSTON UNIVERSITY, THE LUTHER SCHOLARS PROGRAM. SO YES, APPLY. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. WELL, WE’RE GOING TO GET A LINK AND PUT THAT ON OUR SEEN ON SECTION OF KOCO DOT COM. SO ANYBODY WHO KNOWS A LANGSTON STUDENT OR ANYONE WHO’S INTERESTED IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, THE SCIENCE FIELD, GOT TO GET THEM IN THE LAB. AND THIS PROGRAM, IT’S VERY, VERY HELPFUL. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON DOCTOR LEWIS. AND I’LL SOON CALL YOU DOCTOR HEATH. YES YOU WILL. I CAN’T WAIT TO HALEY. THAN