While smoking rates in the United States have substantially declined over the past six decades, smoking remains high among people with low incomes, leading to health disparities. A smartphone app that delivers real-time, tailored messages may hold the key to helping them quit, according to University of Oklahoma clinical trial results published today in JAMA Network Open.

Electronic cigarettes, or vapes, are widely used and available in hundreds of different types and flavors, yet researchers lack information about the everyday e-cigarette habits of young adults. The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has funded a University of Oklahoma study that will investigate how, when and why young adults use e-cigarettes and how that use may relate to health risks. The results will help the FDA make decisions about regulating the makers of e-cigarette products.

The prestigious Harold Hamm International Prize for Biomedical Research in Diabetes, an honor bestowed by OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, will be awarded this fall to Professor Dr. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health. She is also Chair in Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes at Technische Universität München, School of Medicine. She is being honored for her research to understand the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes and efforts toward its prediction, early diagnosis and prevention. 

The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents approved an ambitious plan in Tulsa today to incrementally increase enrollment in the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program in the OU College of Medicine at OU Health Sciences by more than 40% over the next five years – a strategic initiative designed to address the critical demand for additional health care professionals in Oklahoma.

U.S. Poison Centers save $3.1 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity, according to a new independent study released by America’s Poison Centers®. Conducted by RAND, the report confirms that U.S. Poison Centers provide substantial economic and societal benefits for communities across the country. In 2025, the Oklahoma Poison Center managed 31,462 human exposure cases and handled a total of 36,167 incoming calls, including 4,580 informational calls. To ensure patient safety and continuity of care, specialists conducted 34,335 follow-up calls, resulting in more than 70,500 total calls answered and placed in support of Oklahoma families and health care providers.