Director, OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center

Director, OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center
Vice Provost for Diabetes Programs
University of Oklahoma Health Campus | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

THE SEARCH

The University of Oklahoma and OU Health seek an exceptional leader and researcher to serve as the next Director of the OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center (Center, HHDC), one of the nation's most uniquely endowed and strategically positioned centers dedicated to advancing diabetes research, care, and prevention. This is a rare opportunity to lead a deeply resourced enterprise with a clear purpose: accelerating discovery, expanding access to high-quality diabetes care, and advancing prevention, treatment, and long-term disease modification, with the ultimate goal of moving the field closer to cures.

The role also carries the University title of Vice Provost for Diabetes Programs, reflecting the Center's institution-wide importance and the Director's responsibility for advancing diabetes-related research and clinical integration across the University of Oklahoma Health Campus.

Founded through extraordinary philanthropic vision, the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center benefits from one of the largest private investments in diabetes research and innovation in the United States. Over the past decade, the Center has built one of the strongest internal research investment pipelines nationally, supporting early-stage discovery and accelerating translation toward NIH and other external funding. These resources are complemented by endowed faculty positions, shared research infrastructure, and state-of-the-art facilities that support a vibrant community of basic, translational, and clinical investigators.

The Center enjoys international visibility through the Harold Hamm International Prize for Biomedical Research in Diabetes, the largest research prize in the field. Its statewide clinical footprint and longstanding partnerships with Oklahoma's sovereign tribal nations further distinguish the Center as a nationally unique platform for impactful, community-engaged research and care.

The broader institutional environment adds to this momentum. The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center is a flagship institute of the University of Oklahoma Health Campus, the state's comprehensive academic health campus and home to seven health-related colleges. The University of Oklahoma Health Campus and OU Health are investing significantly in faculty recruitment, research growth, and interdisciplinary collaboration under new leadership, creating a strong foundation for expansion in diabetes and metabolic disease research. As part of this commitment, the University of Oklahoma has launched Project 200, a bold initiative to recruit 200 research-intensive faculty across the entire University of Oklahoma system; of these, 150 will be based at the Health Campus to build recognized strength in biomedical research.

THE HAROLD HAMM DIABETES CENTER

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center is a comprehensive center dedicated to diabetes research, clinical care, and prevention. Established in 2008, the Center operates as a freestanding, 157,000-square-foot facility on the University of Oklahoma Health Campus. The Center supports a broad portfolio of basic, clinical, and translational research and is home to more than 100 faculty members and 15 endowed chairs.

Research

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center supports a growing, multidisciplinary research enterprise aligned with institutional priorities in diabetes, metabolism, and population health. The Center's research is organized around three strategic paths toward preventing diabetes and its complications, advancing long-term disease modification, and cure: early life intervention, pancreatic protection, and neurometabolic regulation.

Over the past decade, Center-affiliated investigators have secured substantial external research support from sources that include the National Institutes of Health, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Heart Association. During this period, the HHDC's NIH portfolio has grown from approximately $5 million at its founding to roughly $33 million today.

A distinguishing feature of HHDC is its significant internal investment in investigator development. It operates one of the largest internal diabetes research funding programs in the country, designed to catalyze new ideas, support early-career investigators, and accelerate translation toward external funding.

Native American Partnerships and Population-Engaged Research

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center has longstanding partnerships with Oklahoma's sovereign tribal nations, including the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Nations. Through these partnerships, Center investigators conduct population-based research, NIH-funded prevention studies, and maternal and child health research in communities with a disproportionate burden of diabetes and metabolic disease.

Clinical Research and Care

The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center integrates research and clinical care through a statewide clinical footprint that includes Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and selected Native American communities. A meaningful opportunity exists to deepen alignment with pediatric diabetes care and research and to build a more integrated, lifespan-oriented enterprise.

ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR

The Director of the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center provides overall leadership for the Center's research, clinical integration, and philanthropic activities. The Director reports to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and has a dual reporting line to the Chief Executive Officer of OU Health. The Director oversees the Center's operations, budget, and administrative infrastructure and leads a multidisciplinary enterprise that includes a Deputy Director, approximately 11 administrative and program staff, and a community of more than 100 affiliated faculty across the Health Campus and OU Tulsa.

This is a highly relational leadership role. The Director serves as the Center's primary ambassador to philanthropic partners, community stakeholders, and advisory boards, and engages collaborators across the University, OU Health, and partner institutions.

KEY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DIRECTOR

• Lead an Integrated Vision for Diabetes Impact Across Oklahoma
• Strengthen and Expand the Scope and Impact of Diabetes Research
• Strengthen Clinical Research and Translation
• Advance Philanthropy, Partnerships, and National Visibility

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS

• An MD, PhD, or MD/PhD in a relevant discipline, with credentials appropriate for appointment at the associate or full professor level in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine or a related academic unit.
• A nationally recognized record of accomplishment in diabetes or metabolic disease research, demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications, sustained external funding, and leadership in multidisciplinary or collaborative research programs.
• Experience building or expanding externally funded research portfolios, including support from federal agencies, foundations, and industry partners.
• A demonstrated ability to shape and advance a strategic vision for a complex academic or research enterprise.
• Evidence of effective leadership in complex academic or health system settings.
• Experience partnering with department chairs, division leaders, and health system leadership to support faculty recruitment, retention, and development.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing complex budgets and stewarding philanthropic, institutional, and externally funded resources.
• A strong record of mentoring and supporting investigators across career stages.
• Comfort operating in a highly relational environment that includes philanthropic partners, advisory boards, and community stakeholders.
• Experience working across institutional, disciplinary, and community boundaries.
• An appreciation for Oklahoma's civic, economic, and cultural context, and the ability to engage effectively with partners whose perspectives are shaped by regional industries, tribal nations, and long-standing institutional traditions.
• A leadership style characterized by integrity, credibility, and clear communication.

The University, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information, gender identity/expression (consistent with applicable law), age (40 or older), religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures.