OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Names New Director to Lead Fight Against Diabetes

OKLAHOMA CITY – Diabetes is a critical health challenge in Oklahoma, with more than 14 percent of the state’s adult population diagnosed with the disease—surpassing the national average and making its widespread impact a defining public health challenge for the state. The University of Oklahoma is committed to reducing diabetes complications and related deaths in Oklahoma by 30% over five years.  

Building on its two-decade journey from a philanthropic vision to a worldwide research enterprise committed to preventing, treating, and curing diabetes, the University of Oklahoma Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center has named John P. Kirwan, Ph.D., FACSM, a world-leading translational scientist, as its next director, effective Sept. 1, pending approval from the OU Board of Regents.

“Few health challenges have touched the lives of Oklahomans more profoundly than diabetes,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “For decades, Harold Hamm has challenged us to think bigger about what is possible in the fight against this disease. Through his extraordinary vision, determination and generosity, the OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center has become one of our nation’s leading institutions for diabetes research, prevention and treatment.  

“As we build on that remarkable foundation, we need leaders who can match the scale of our ambition and accelerate the pace of discovery. We have found that in Dr. Kirwan. His exceptional expertise, proven leadership and unwavering commitment to improving human health will be critical in leading the center’s next chapter – attracting top talent, advancing groundbreaking discoveries and moving us closer to a future free from diabetes.”  

The OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center was established through the transformative philanthropy of Harold Hamm, founder and chairman emeritus of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, Inc. His generosity has made the center a national leader in diabetes research. Since its founding, NIH research income has grown from $5 million to $33 million, and the center has expanded its research enterprise, clinical programs, and community outreach to address one of the most pressing health challenges facing Oklahoma and the nation.    

“The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center has built something rare, with the talent, resources, and ambition to tackle diabetes at every level, from molecular discovery to the patients who walk through our clinic doors,” said Kirwan. “I am honored to help lead its next chapter and translate that science into real gains for Oklahomans and for people everywhere living with this disease.”  

“We’ve come a long way in our fight against diabetes, but I believe our most important discoveries are still ahead of us,” said Hamm. “Too many Oklahomans and families across the country continue to live with the burden of this disease, which is why investing in research remains so important. The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center was built on the belief that bringing together the best minds and giving them the resources to pursue bold ideas can change lives and ultimately cure diabetes. Dr. Kirwan is an outstanding scientist and proven leader, and I am confident that he will help take the center to even greater heights.”  

Kirwan joins OU from Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, where he served as executive director from 2018 to 2025. During that time, he grew the institution’s annual research enterprise from $59 million to $100 million, a 69% increase. He currently serves as executive director of Louisiana's Clinical and Translational Science Center, a million statewide NIH consortium that has generated more than $120 million in grants and awards. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has secured more than $150 million in research funding, authored 327 peer-reviewed publications, and accumulated more than 113,000 citations, with an H-index of 102, including landmark studies in the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA.  

He earned his Ph.D. in human bioenergetics from Ball State University, his master’s degree in exercise biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Limerick in Ireland.

Kirwan’s appointment is a testament to the caliber of the faculty scientists who will be recruited to the University of Oklahoma under Project 200, the university’s landmark faculty scientist recruitment initiative launched to attract 200 new world-class researchers to accelerate OU’s rise as a preeminent research institution. Kirwan’s recruitment reflects OU’s commitment to advancing research that addresses some of Oklahoma’s most pressing health challenges, including diabetes and obesity. The University expects 40 of the additional 200 scientists to focus on diabetes research.

Kirwan is a translational scientist whose work spans precision medicine, clinical programs, community outreach, and international collaborations. He investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying diabetes and metabolic disease. His active NIH R01 grant, DYNAMMO, focuses on the role of skeletal muscle mitochondria in insulin resistance, building on his laboratory’s discovery of a protein called Miro1 that regulates mitochondrial function and may be a therapeutic target for diabetes. Among his most-cited contributions is the STAMPEDE trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which demonstrated that bariatric surgery could put type 2 diabetes into remission for some patients and has been cited over 3,500 times. Kirwan also co-founded TransIslet Therapeutics LLC, a biotechnology company developing genetically engineered beta cell transplant therapy as a potential cure for type 1 diabetes and translating basic science discoveries into therapeutic applications.  

About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.