{"id":3859,"date":"2024-03-03T18:51:05","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T00:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.okbu.edu\/obumagazine\/?p=3859"},"modified":"2024-03-03T18:51:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T00:51:05","slug":"enjoy-the-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.okbu.edu\/obumagazine\/enjoy-the-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy the Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of an OBU alumna who is changing medicine and the OBU junior who intends to advance it further!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Raised on a northern Oklahoma wheat and cattle farm near Pond Creek, Dr. Judith James suffered from asthma.<\/p>\n

Even at four years old James saw the visit to a local pediatrician as an excellent opportunity to reel off numerous questions.<\/p>\n

She recalls the doctor saying, \u201cthat if I wanted to become a nurse, he would hire me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The focused preschooler politely flipped the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him that I would become a doctor and hire him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Path to Chief Medical Officer<\/h2>\n

James, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Fleming Scholar in 1988, graduated from OBU summa cum laude with honors in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. She then became the first M.D.\/Ph.D. dual degree program graduate from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.<\/p>\n

Today, she serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of OMRF and chairs its Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program. James, a board-certified rheumatologist, has made pioneering contributions to understanding how autoimmune diseases start and progress.<\/p>\n

In November 2023, she was inducted into the prestigious Oklahoma Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

So, given the opportunity, what would she go back and tell herself? Or rather, how would she shape her own future with advice?<\/p>\n

OBU junior Austin Lopez, a biochemistry major and a 2023 Fleming Scholar, can answer that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first-time meeting Dr. James was actually when my nephew was born at OU Children\u2019s Hospital,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cDr. James and my dad were close friends at OBU, as they were both science majors.\u201d<\/p>\n

James stopped by to say hello and gave Lopez and her father, Carl Lopez, a 1990 OBU physics graduate, a tour of OMRF, located across the street from Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember her telling me then that the path I wanted was daunting, but to take things one day at a time,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cThis advice was simple but honestly has been a mantra for me for the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a sophomore, Lopez took organic chemistry, university physics and advanced physiology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was by far the most difficult academic semester of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cThe only way I made it through was by taking one day at a time and leaning on my community. Sophomore year was the season of my life where I can see the most growth, and I know that looking up to people like Dr. James gave me the motivation to push through the hard times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those words shared during that impromptu tour, were future shaping.<\/p>\n

Advice for Aspiring Students<\/h2>\n

While her medical research has had an impact on the world, James has never lost sight of the individuals.<\/p>\n

When asked what additional advice she would give to Lopez and other students with similar aspirations, James said, \u201cTake time to enjoy the journey,\u201d James said. \u201cBeing goal-oriented is great and leads to wonderful productivity. However, taking time to enjoy the steps along the way is critical to avoiding burnout. Stay in touch with your community. Science can be very isolating. Find ways to connect with and to stay connected with uplifting family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

James encourages Lopez not to fear failure because it isn\u2019t bad, \u201cit\u2019s just a hypothesis that you proved wrong. Adjust and try again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conversely, while it\u2019s important to understand how to handle the challenges, James also wants Lopez to enjoy the wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cCelebrate the successes,\u201d she said. \u201cPause and appreciate the good things. Science is a lot of research. We often search and search again. It\u2019s easy to ignore the good things because we are too busy doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

James could do this all day long \u2013 sharing ways to help others. She\u2019s done it for a lifetime. So, what should the \u201cyou of Bison Hill days,\u201d or rather Lopez, keep in mind going forward?<\/p>\n

James encourages consideration of the M.D.\/Ph.D. dual degree program.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelding the clinical and science training is great for career development \u2013 and you get paid to go to school,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, study hard and stay up on your grades, but make time for some spontaneous fun with your friends and colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point James drops a hint, \u201cApply to schools broadly and critically review the offers or call an individual to have this discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t take too many guesses as to whom James is suggesting Lopez might call for advice.<\/p>\n

A Valuable Internship<\/h2>\n

Like James, Lopez is always looking to advance her medical interests. So, like James, she pursued and was chosen as a Fleming Scholar for summer 2023. The Fleming program is named for Sir Alexander Fleming, the British scientist who discovered penicillin and, in 1949, came to Oklahoma City to dedicate OMRF\u2019s first building.<\/p>\n

While interning at OMRF, Lopez infected cartilage cells with a virus to determine whether the virus might be therapeutic for osteoarthritis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe genes that are being transplanted through those cells are able to turn an older cell into a young, stem-like cell,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter growing and infecting the cartilage cells, I extracted RNA and analyzed it to see whether the virus transplanted the genes into the cells.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tulsa Union High School graduate and now OBU upperclassman was among 16 students from Oklahoma who formed the 67th class of Fleming Scholars at OMRF. Lopez\u2019 OMRF mentor was Matlock Jeffries, M.D., a board-certified rheumatologist and lead researcher on a clinical study aimed at identifying biological signs that could help predict the severity of osteoarthritis.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustin is quite conscientious and smart, and she did a great job on the final presentation summarizing her internship project,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n

So, OMRF brought her back as a research assistant for the fall 2023 semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to continue being involved in research in medical school, residency and my career,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI am not sure the specialty I would like to go into, but I have always loved working with kids. I am heavily considering rheumatology and obstetrics and gynecology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez is very thankful for the knowledge and experience she has gained on Bison Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science department and community have grown me as a person tremendously,\u201d she said. \u201cThe friends I have made here are friends I know I\u2019ll have for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has praise for all her science professors. For example, Lopez said of Dr. Contessa Edgar, chair of the Division of Science and associate professor of biology, \u201cDr. Edgar has been a mentor and a role model for me. She has helped me grow so much as a student and person. She helped me apply for my research programs and worked at OMRF as a post-doc before coming to OBU, so having someone who could help me make connections at OMRF has really helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Internship to Landmark Career<\/h2>\n

James had just finished her junior year at OBU when she went to OMRF as a Fleming Scholar. She\u2019d told the selection committee she wanted to do research on asthma, which not only afflicted her but also many members of her family. She was assigned to the laboratory of Dr. John Harley, a physician-researcher who was an allergist and rheumatologist.<\/p>\n

Harley assigned James a pair of projects to study different aspects of lupus, an autoimmune disease.<\/p>\n

James thought her research on lupus would represent a brief scientific detour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured I\u2019d learn some auto-immunity, then apply it to asthma,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But as she delved into the depths of the disease, investigating the molecular targets and the immune cells that mistakenly attack them, the work struck a chord with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked the detective work,\u201d she said. \u201cI enjoyed trying to figure out something that no one had figured out before.\u201d<\/p>\n

James returned to OBU for her senior year but kept working with Harley in OMRF\u2019s labs. The OU Health Sciences Center launched an M.D.\/Ph.D. program, and on the strength of her undergraduate career and work in Harley\u2019s lab, James was one of two students accepted into the inaugural class. This enabled her to pursue a medical degree as well as a doctorate in microbiology and immunology simultaneously.<\/p>\n

That momentum only continues to build in her landmark career. How does James hope she has shaped the future?<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our clinical and translational research, I hope we have and are changing the future of autoimmune diseases,\u201d James said. \u201cWe are now finishing the first in the world lupus prevention study, and we are changing the future by forwarding prevention for these complicated diseases that remain a top 10 medical cause of death in young women between ages 15 and 45. I also hope I am changing the future by mentoring junior trainees to help them launch their own independent research or medical careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her former trainees have gone on to faculty jobs at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of California San Francisco and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, I hope I am shaping the future through collaboration as I lead the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the largest National Institutes of Health grant in Oklahoma history that involves 29 Oklahoma entities, and we are focused on improving the health of all Oklahomans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commitment, Impact and Inspiration<\/h2>\n

The pediatrician likely didn\u2019t see such a monumental impact rising from within the four year old with asthma. However, it hasn\u2019t surprised James \u2013 it\u2019s been her goal. And it certainly doesn\u2019t shock Lopez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so honored to know Dr. James,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cShe has been such an inspiration to me. She is one of the hardest-working people I know, and despite being one of the most prestigious scientists in the United States, she continues to go above and beyond for others. Her commitment to providing opportunities to women and underrepresented communities in science is something I am also very passionate about. She truly inspires me. I hope someday I can make a percentage of the contribution she has made to the biomedical sciences field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Dr. Judith James: Shaping the Future in Medicine<\/h2>\n