OKLAHOMA CITY – More than 800 people attended the 2025 Connect+Cure Gala on Wednesday night, raising $4.7 million to support research and programs at the University of Oklahoma Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center.

Citing a background of innovative cancer research, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) has elected OU’s Priyabrata Mukherjee, Ph.D., as a foreign fellow. His fellowship will begin Jan. 1, 2026. Mukherjee is a tenured professor of pathology at the OU College of Medicine whose work focuses on tumor microenvironments and the interactions between proteins and nanoparticles. He holds the George Lynn Cross Research Professorship and the Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professorship.

Michael Steiner, M.D., M.P.H., a nationally recognized physician leader in pediatric medicine and health services research, has been named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and clinical service chief of pediatrics at OU Health. In these dual roles, Steiner will lead the department’s clinical, research and educational missions, advancing the University of Oklahoma’s academic health system and its commitment to excellence in pediatric care, innovation and training. He will begin in his new role in December 2025.

Min Li, Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP).

With a new grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Oklahoma Health Stephenson Cancer Center is growing its mission of building the next generation of health professionals.