Wohl Bass Tournament nets funds for OMRF cancer research

OKLAHOMA CITY, November 3, 2009 – Western Oklahoma fishing enthusiasts often dip their hooks in Foss Lake looking for a prize catch. But once each fall, the trophy they reel in isn’t just for the biggest fish—it’s funds they raise in the fight against cancer.

This year’s Frank Wohl Memorial Bass Tournament raised $1,420 for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, bringing the grand total to approximately $45,000 since the tournament began in 1986.

Wohl, a fishing enthusiast and businessman from Clinton, died in 1985 of cancer. The tournament was organized the next year to pay tribute to Wohl and turn his favorite pastime into a way to support research in the disease that claimed his life.

At OMRF, scientists Rheal Towner, Ph.D., and Robert Floyd, Ph.D., have discovered a novel treatment for glioblastoma, the brain cancer that took the lives of Sen. Edward Kennedy and Oklahoma native and former New York Yankee star Bobby Murcer. Their work has shown promising results in preclinical research, and they hope to begin clinical trials in humans next year.

In another OMRF project, a research team led by Linda Thompson helped create the first genetic-based risk assessment test for breast cancer.

OMRF is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human diseases. Chartered in 1946, its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease.

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