The University of Oklahoma announced today Matthew Wade Hulver, Ph.D., will become the first universitywide vice president for research and partnerships, effective June 1, pending OU Board of Regents’ approval. This new role integrates the university’s research enterprise across campuses to accelerate growth and increase the university’s impact.

A pioneering research study published today in Cell Metabolism details how the hormone FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) can reverse the effects of fatty liver disease in mice. The hormone works primarily by signaling the brain to improve liver function.

Layne Keep will graduate from the University of Oklahoma this May, carrying on a century-old tradition in her family. Keep’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all graduated from OU. Her great-grandmother, Laura Focht Morgan, graduated exactly 100 years before Layne in May 1925.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences has achieved a new Carnegie Classification for its research enterprise and medical school program from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Vice President for Research for Health Sciences Darrin Akins, Ph.D., will retire on Aug. 8. Starting May 19, Akins will transition to a special assistant role within the OU Health Sciences’ Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, where he will continue supporting strategic initiatives.