OHSU Research Mentors
Peter G. Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D.
Dr. Peter G. Barr-Gillespie is a Professor of Otolaryngology. His research focuses on the molecular basis of mechanotransduction by hair cells in the inner ear. He is not currently mentoring any undergraduate or graduate students, nor any postdocs. Dr. Barr-Gillespie is a faculty mentor on three OHSU training grants. Dr. Barr-Gillespie was the recipient of the 2005 Faculty Excellence in Education Award, OHSU and the 2009 John A. Resko Faculty Research Achievement and Mentoring Award, OHSU.
Luiz Eduardo Bertassoni, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Dr. Luiz Eduardo Bertassoni is associate professor of restorative/regenerative dentistry and cancer early detection. His research focuses on engineering of complex tissues for regenerative applications, as well as the development of models of cancer. Dr. Bertassoni is currently mentoring 10 students, including three undergrads and research assistants, three PhD students, four postdoctoral scholars. He is a faculty mentor, steering committee member, or track director on 2 OHSU training grants.
Nicole Bowles, Ph.D.
Dr. Nicole Bowles is an Assistant Professor in the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU. Her research examines the role of cannabinoid signaling in the modulation of sleep and circadian rhythms in humans, and determines how these signaling patterns buffer the cardiometabolic responses to psychosocial and environmental stress. Dr. Bowles is currently mentoring one postdoctoral scholar and three undergraduate students. She is a faculty mentor on one OHSU training grant. She completed NHLBI PRIDE Peer Mentor Development Program in 2021 and was selected as a peer mentor for that program (mentored two junior faculty members). Dr. Bowles was the recipient of the 2021 Women in Academic Health & Medicine Emerging Leader Award.
Matthew Butler, Ph.D.
Dr. Matthew Butler is an associate professor in the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences. Research in the lab is focused on how internal body clocks are synchronized and how these clocks contribute to health and well-being. Dr. Butler currently mentors one postdoctoral scholar and two undergraduate students in the laboratory and is a faculty member on one training grant at OHSU.
Kathleen F. Carlson, Ph.D.
Dr. Kathleen F. Carlson is a Professor of Epidemiology in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and Director of the OHSU Gun Violence Prevention Research Center. Her research focuses on the epidemiology, prevention, and control of injury and violence across communities and populations at risk. She is currently mentoring approximately 14 students, including two undergraduates and research assistants, eight MPH students, one PhD student, and three postdoctoral fellows. She has served as a faculty mentor for multiple career development awardees and directed the VA Learning Health Systems postdoctoral fellowship for eight years.
Michael S. Cohen, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael S. Cohen is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on the role of the essential metabolite NAD+ in physiology and disease. Dr. Cohen is currently mentoring three graduate students, two postdoctoral scholars, and one undergraduate. He is a faculty member on the PBMS training grant and is an associate director on the Chemical Physiology training grant.
Karen B. Eden, Ph.D.
Dr. Karen Eden is a professor in the Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology. Her research focuses on designing and evaluating evidence-based tools to help patients make informed decisions. She is currently mentoring three PhD students. Dr. Eden is a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants and is co-PI (contract PI) on one K12 institutional career development training grant. Dr. Eden was the recipient of the 2020 OHSU All Hill Flame Awards, Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award presented by the All Hill Student Council and the 2017 OHSU School of Medicine, Outstanding Service Award presented by the OHSU Faculty Senate.
Marc Freeman, Ph.D.
Dr. Marc Freeman is the Director of the Vollum Institute. His research focuses on understanding neuron-glia signaling in the developing and mature brain, and how these pathways go awry in disease. He is currently mentoring four undergraduate, three graduate, and 10 postdoctoral trainees. Freeman is a faculty member of two OHSU training grants. Dr. Freeman was the recipient of the 2022 NIH Landis Award for Outstanding Mentoring.
Kathleen A. Grant, Ph.D.
Dr. Kathy A. Grant is a Professor and Chief of the Division of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Her research focuses on the risks and consequences of voluntary heavy alcohol consumption in rhesus macaques. Dr. Grant is currently mentoring one undergraduate and one postdoctoral trainee. She is a faculty member on two OHSU training grants (National Institute on Aging T32 and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism T32).
John David Heintzman, M.D.
Dr. John David Heintzman is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine. His research focuses on the access to and quality of care delivered to Latino patients in community health centers. Dr. Heintzman is currently mentoring an undergraduate student and is a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants.
Lisa Karstens, Ph.D.
Dr. Lisa Karstens is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology. Her research focuses on the bioinformatics behind understanding the microbiome in relation to human health, with an emphasis on applications to women’s health and bladder disorders. Dr. Karstens is currently mentoring six trainees, including one undergraduate, three PhD students, and two post-docs. She is a mentor on the National Library of Medicine T15 pre- and post-doctoral biomedical informatics training program and co-investigator on the NLM R25 to attract diverse students to biomedical informatics and data science careers. She was also a mentor on the 2024 VOICE AI summer school, part of the NIH Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program.
Martina Mancini, Ph.D.
Dr. Martina Mancini is currently Associate Professor of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on the use of technology to understand and treat mobility impairments in people with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Mancini is investigating the cortical correlates of walking changes with technology-based approaches for rehabilitation. They are currently mentoring two undergraduate students and two postdoctoral scholars. They are a faculty mentor on one OHSU training grant.
Julia Maxson, PhD
Dr. Julia Maxson is an Associate Professor of the Department of Oncologic Sciences and the Knight Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on genetic and epigenetic evolution of leukemias. She is currently mentoring two graduate students and one postdoctoral fellow. She is a faculty mentor on three OHSU training grants. Dr. Maxson was the recipient of 2021 Women in Academic Health and Medicine Mentorship Award, OHSU.
Claudio V. Mello, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Claudio V. Mello is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience. His research focuses on the molecular and genetic basis of vocal behavior and vocal learning, using avian models. He is currently mentoring one graduate student and co-mentoring one postdoctoral scholar. Dr. Mello is a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants.
Suzanne H. Mitchell, Ph.D.
Dr. Suzanne H. Mitchell is a Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience. Her research focuses on the factors that influence impulsive and risky decision-making and how these behaviors can be affected by psychopathogies like substance use, ADHD and trauma. She is currently mentoring two graduate students. Dr. Mitchell is a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants.
Kelly Monk, Ph.D.
Dr. Kelly Monk is a Professor and the co-director of the Vollum Institute. Her research focuses on the biology of non-neuronal cells in the brain called glia using zebrafish and mouse models. Dr. Monk is currently mentoring five graduate students and four postdoctoral trainees. She is a faculty mentor on three OHSU training grants. Dr. Monk has been nominated for the NIH/NINDS Landis mentoring award twice by her trainees and won the Washington University Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2015.
Angelica Morales, Ph.D.
Dr. Angelica Morales is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on identifying neurobiological and behavioral risk factors for escalating substance use during the transition into adulthood. She uses multimodal neuroimaging to assess brain structure, function and chemistry with the goal of understanding individual differences in neurobiology not only before drug exposure, but also in response to acute and chronic drug exposure.
Swetha Murthy, Ph.D.
Dr. Swetha Murthy is an Assistant Professor at Vollum Institute, OHSU. Her studies how mechanosensitive ion channels detect and respond to physical stimuli, and how this response governs mammalian physiology. She is currently mentoring one graduate student, one postdoc, two research assistants, and has mentored a PREP postbac student. She has attended the Mentorship Academy workshop, is a faculty on the Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry T32 grant, and is an executive committee member on the OHSU PREP program.
Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.
Dr. Bonnie Nagel is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Director of the Center for Mental Health Innovation at OHSU. Her research aims to identify biopsychosocial predictors of mental health problems in youth and is poised to inform more targeted precision mental health identification, intervention, and problem prevention efforts. Dr. Nagel currently is mentoring four graduate students and two postdoctoral fellows and is a faculty mentor on two training grants at OHSU.
Angela R. Ozburn, Ph.D.
Dr. Angela R. Ozburn is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience. Research in the Ozburn laboratory uses animal models to better understand molecular mechanisms that underlie addiction and improved treatment of substance use disorders. Dr. Ozburn has been nominated for the OHSU John A. Resko Faculty Excellence in Research and Mentoring award by her trainees. Dr. Ozburn is currently mentoring two graduate students and two post-doctoral fellows. Dr. Ozburn is a faculty mentor on 3 OHSU Training Grants.
Isabella Rauch, Ph.D.
Dr. Isabella Rauch is an assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology. Their research focuses on host-pathogen interactions in epithelial tissues, mainly the intestines. They are currently mentoring one undergraduate, two graduate students and a postdoc. They are a faculty mentor on one OHSU training grant.
Pepper J. Schedin, Ph.D.
Dr. Pepper J. Schedin is a Professor of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology. Their research focuses on the prevention and treatment of young women’s breast cancer, with a specific focus on how recent childbirth promotes breast cancer metastasis. They are currently mentoring two undergraduates, one graduate and two postdoctoral fellows. They are a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants. Dr. Schedin was the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award, Cancer Biology 7600, Department of Pathology, UCHSC, Denver, CO; Dean’s Mentoring Award, In recognition of Exemplary Thesis Advising, Anschutz Medical Campus Graduate School University of Colorado, Denver, CO; and the Recipient of the 2019 Scientific Mentoring and Development Award from the Office of Continuing Professional Development for developing the Early Career Faculty Advancement Program for researchers, which includes all early career research faculty within OHSU’s School of Medicine.
Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D.
Dr. Fikadu Tafesse is an Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology. His research focuses on studying the intriguing phenomena of how human pathogens use the host metabolic pathways during infection. Dr. Tafesse is currently mentoring five graduate students. They are a faculty mentor on two OHSU training grants.
Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D.
Dr. Henrique Von Gersdorff is a Professor and Senior Scientist at the Vollum Institute, OHSU. His research is focused on sensory neuroscience and synapse function and development. Dr. Von Gersdorff is currently mentoring three postdoctoral fellows, two research associates, and one Ph.D. student.
Deena Walker, Ph.D.
Dr. Deena Walker is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in substance use disorder vulnerability. Dr. Walker is currently mentoring five undergraduate/graduate/postdoc student(s). She is a faculty mentor on three OHSU training grants.
Daniel Zuckerman, Ph.D.
Dr. Daniel Zuckerman is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering. His research employs physics-based computational methods to simulate and analyze biological data from molecular to cellular scales. He is a faculty member on two OHSU training grants. Dr. Zuckerman is the recipient of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Distinguished Mentor Award (2015-16). Given once per year after a nomination process requiring external letters.