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.

Two University of Oklahoma researchers, Rodney Tweten, Ph.D., and Jizhong “Joe” Zhou, Ph.D., have been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. OU is the only university in Oklahoma with representation in the organization, and this marks the first time two OU faculty members have been elected in the same year.

Two hundred and twelve University of Oklahoma students eligible to participate in graduation ceremonies maintained a perfect 4.0 grade-point average throughout their academic program at OU. Of the total, 140 reside in Oklahoma.

In a study published Wednesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), University of Oklahoma researchers detail their discoveries about why the brain tumor glioblastoma is so aggressive. Their findings center on ZIP4, a protein that transports zinc throughout the body and sets off a cascade of events that drive tumor growth.