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Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships

Oklahoma's
Leading
Research
Institution


$517M

Annual Research Expenditures


No. 1

Nationally in Atmospheric Science & Meteorology Funding

NSF HERD Survey



Top 4%

Nationally in NIH Funding

Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research


No. 67 U.S. / No. 1 OK

Universities Granted Utility Patents

National Academy of Inventors


OVPRP’s impact-focused research strategy is anchored in four key areas

A person in a lab coat looking through a microscope.
Health

Oklahoma faces some of the most persistent health challenges in the country, and no single discipline is going to solve them. Our health research strategy draws on the full breadth of team science, working alongside our clinical partners, to drive life-saving research across cancer, diabetes, neuroscience, maternal and pediatric health, and more.

A large storm system moving across the plains.
Weather

Oklahoma sits at the center of some of the most complex and severe weather patterns on the planet. Our weather research strategy draws on the full strength of the National Weather Center and our atmospheric science expertise to lead innovation in forecasting, risk reduction, and community resilience.

A person working on a drone.
National Security

Oklahoma is home to a long-standing, deeply embedded aerospace and defense ecosystem, and few places can move research from concept to application as quickly. Home to major federal installations, world-class sustainment and logistics capabilities, and a growing network of industry partners, OU is advancing innovation, workforce development, and operational readiness for the nation’s warfighters.

A person in safety gear checking a natural gas pipeline.
Energy

Oklahoma has a deep legacy in domestic energy, and few states are better equipped to shape what comes next. Our energy research strategy draws on that legacy to lead advances in subsurface energy systems, critical minerals, carbon management, grid resilience, and next-generation energy technologies.

Research
September 17, 2026

Li named president of International Association of Pancreatology

Min Li, Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Associate Director for Global Oncology at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, has been named president of the International Association of Pancreatology.


Research
September 10, 2026

Protein linked to cell death may also drive liver cancer

New research from the University of Oklahoma, published in Hepatology, identifies a protein in liver cells that appears to help drive the development of liver cancer associated with obesity-related fatty liver disease.


Research
September 09, 2026

OU, Southcentral Foundation partnership awarded five-year NIH grant to train the next generation of Tribal health researchers

A decade-long partnership between the University of Oklahoma and Southcentral Foundation, an Alaska Native-owned, nonprofit health care organization based in Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to grow and strengthen a research workforce serving American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.


Stylized crimson line.