Rudolf P. Bohm, Jr., DVM, DACLAM, Director

Dr. Bohm has over 30 years of experience in nonhuman primate biomedical research focused in the areas of infectious disease model development, nonhuman primate medicine and surgery, nonhuman primate breeding colony management and preventive medicine programs, and animal resources administration. Prior to his appointment as ONPRC Director in 2023, he served on senior leadership teams at two National Primate Research Centers (NPRC) as Associate Director, Attending Veterinarian, and Division Chair. In these roles he provided team-led oversight for the research program, operations, animal resources, and strategic planning for the centers. Dr. Bohm served as the Chair of the NIH Nonhuman Primate Breeding Colony Management Consortium from its inception in 2008 until 2018. He is an ad hoc nonhuman primate specialist for the AAALAC and has served on several NPRC National Scientific Advisory Boards. He was the Director of the Tulane University Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency/Post-doctoral fellowship Program and Director of the Tulane Center of Excellence for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease Research. Dr. Bohm served as co-chair of the NIH Research Consortium Coronavirus Vaccine and Therapeutic Evaluation Network. In 2023, Dr. Bohm was named Chair of the Infectious and Emerging Diseases Working Group (IEDWG) of the NIH Nonhuman Primate Research Consortium. The IEDWG utilizes expertise of NHP scientists to ready a rapid response to infectious disease outbreaks and potential pandemics. It provides a synergistic and an integrated approach to respond to current and emerging public health needs through NHP research. He has contributed to the development and characterization of a variety of infectious disease models in nonhuman primates including simian immunodeficiency virus/HIV, Zika virus, streptococcal pneumonia, Lyme disease, respiratory syncytial virus, and most recently organized and provided oversight of animal model development for the SARS-CoV-2 rhesus macaque and African green monkey animal models at the Tulane NPRC.

​​​​​​​Lisa Kendig, Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Kendig joined the primate center in 2013. She started her career at OHSU in 1999 in Central Financial Services. Prior to that, OHSU was her audit client when she was working for a large public accounting firm. She was the Director of Finance for the Research mission at the university for nine years before stepping into the role as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Center. As the COO, she is responsible for directing the operations, finances, grants management, human resources, information systems and facilities for the center. 

Jon Hennebold, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research 

Dr. Hennebold and his research team are leaders in primate reproductive biology, specifically in ovarian physiology and processes required for fertilization and early embryonic development. Their research has led to the development of novel strategies for infertility and contraceptive treatments. Dr. Hennebold’s team also focuses on using recently developed gene editing techniques and assisted reproductive technologies to generate animal models of human diseases so that novel precision medicine-based therapies can be developed for their treatment. Dr. Hennebold has participated in numerous scientific advisory panels, editorial boards, and NIH study sections. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Dr. Hennebold came to the ONPRC in 2000 as a Staff Scientist in the Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences. In 2002, he was promoted to Assistant Scientist and, from May 2014 to October 2022, served as the Chief of the Reproductive & Developmental Sciences Division. Dr. Hennebold served as the Interim ONPRC Director from November 2022 to August 2023, when he was appointed as the Center’s Associate Director for Research. In addition, he holds an adjunct position in the Department of Obstetrics &Gynecology. Dr. Hennebold is actively involved in accelerating reproductive research by promoting interactions between basic and clinical scientists at OHSU and other universities through various leadership roles. Dr. Hennebold also participates as an advisor to institutional career development grant committees and oversees the research activities of the Department of Obstetrics &Gynecology Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility fellowship.

Lauren Drew Martin, D.V.M., DACLAM, Associate Director for Division of Comparative Medicine

Dr. Martin received her veterinary degree from the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. After completing a one-year internship in Primate Medicine & Surgery at the ONPRC, she joined the Center faculty as a surgical veterinarian in 2008, where along with the Unit Head, she helped oversee the daily functions of the DCM Surgical Services Unit.  In 2012 addition to her surgical duties, Dr. Martin took on leadership of the DCM Small Laboratory Animal Unit, providing Center researchers the opportunity to perform translational work starting in the rodent model and working up to the NHP model. In 2014, Dr. Martin obtained board certification through the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM).  In November 2020, Dr. Martin became the DCM Operations Unit Head, overseeing the largest ARRS Unit with over 70 animal care technicians and supervisory staff who provide the daily husbandry for the Center’s large NHP colony. Dr. Martin has also served as the Director of the Time-Mated Breeding (TMB) Program since 2016, which specializes in providing time-mated pregnancies for Center research projects. Also in 2016, Dr. Martin became the Assistant Chief of DCM working closely with the Division Chief to oversee the West Campus animal care program. Dr. Martin’s primary areas of research focus and support include the effects of fetal and neonatal anesthesia on neurodevelopment, neonatal intensive care in infectious disease models, and the development of minimally invasive, permanent contraception techniques. She has more than 16 years of nonhuman primate management and surgical experience focusing on minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopy and assisted reproductive technologies.  In 2022, Dr. Martin was appointed Associate Director of DCM, in collaboration with the West Campus Attending Veterinarian, she oversees all aspects of the ONPRC animal care program, which includes approximately 5,000 nonhuman primates and leads over 140 DCM animal care staff. Dr. Martin remains active and serves or has served in leadership roles in several professional organizations including ACLAM, the Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV), the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP) and the Academy of Surgical Research (ASR). She is also and Ad hoc Specialist with AAALACi.

Jeff Stanton, D.V.M., M.A., DACLAM, Attending Veterinarian OHSU West Campus

Dr. Stanton joined the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) on the OHSU West Campus in 2012, beginning as a clinical veterinarian in the Clinical Medicine Unit, primarily supporting research conducted by the Division of Pathobiology and Immunology. Dr. Stanton has worked with multiple investigators supporting nonhuman primate (NHP) infectious disease models. This work has involved supporting the NHP model of HIV/AIDS, helping to develop a bone marrow transplant model in cynomolgus macaques, and, most recently, a novel therapeutic study for COVID-19 in rhesus macaques. In addition, Dr. Stanton is Head of the Compliance, Education, and Training Unit in the Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM), which is working to develop a robust Quality Assurance Program to ensure that high-quality animal care and research support continue at the ONRPC. Additionally, Dr. Stanton is the Training Program Director for the Oregon State Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Consortium. Before joining the ONPRC, Dr. Stanton completed a post-doctoral training program in laboratory animal medicine with the Gulf Coast Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Consortium in Houston, Texas. Before entering residency, Dr. Stanton practiced small animal medicine for seven years in O’fallon, Missouri. He earned a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Washington University in St. Louis before attending veterinary school at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Dr. Stanton became a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) in 2013. As the Attending Veterinarian (AV) for the OHSU West Campus, Dr. Stanton is responsible for the health and well-being of all laboratory animals on the West Campus. He works closely with the Associate Director for DCM, ONPRC and OHSU leadership, West Campus researchers, and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee to provide training and oversight to assure the proper and humane care for laboratory animals in compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines. Dr. Stanton is a member of and has held leadership positions in multiple professional organizations, including the Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV), the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), the American Society for Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP), and the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM).

Jonah Sacha, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Pathobiology & Immunology

Dr. Sacha is an innovative infectious disease researcher with over 20 years of experience in infectious disease and immunology research and an established track record in the development of novel therapeutic modalities and prophylactic vaccines in humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs). His group has made discoveries that have informed human clinical trials and pioneered new NHP models of human disease, including the first macaque models of HBV infection and fully MHC-matched allogeneic stem cell transplantation. He is also a recognized expert in cellular immunology and described the first evidence of retrovirus-specific MHC-E-restricted CD8+ T cells. Dr. Sacha moved to OHSU in 2011 as an Assistant Professor after receiving his Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2023, he became Chief of the Division of Pathobiology and Immunology. His research program has been continuously funded by the NIH for over a decade, and he holds nine awarded patents, serves as a member of the scientific advisory board for a publicly traded biotechnology company, and has co-founded a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for infectious diseases.

Kathleen Grant, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Neuroscience

Dr. Grant over the past two decades has achieved eminence as a leading investigator of the behavioral pharmacology of alcohol abuse and alcoholism.  Dr. Grant's laboratory has helped to define the receptor mechanisms that mediate the addictive potential of ethanol in the brain.  Further her research has developed a monkey model of alcoholic drinking that is the basis for over 30 laboratories involved in collaborative research on the genetic, physiological, endocrinological and neuropharmacological risk for and consequences of heavy drinking. Dr. Grant directs the consortium on the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Stress and Alcoholism funded by NIH and has served on the National Advisory Council for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. After training at the University of Washington, University of Chicago, and the National Institutes of Health she rose up through the faculty ranks at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.  Dr. Grant moved to OHSU in 2005 to be jointly appointed in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and the ONPRC. In 2011, she became Division Head of Neuroscience and remains actively involved in the Behavioral Neuroscience Department where she will continue to hold an appointment as Professor.  

Shawn Chavez, Ph.D., Interim Chief, Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences

Shawn L. Chavez is an Associate Professor and the Interim Chief of the Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC), where she has been a faculty member since September of 2013. She also has affiliate appointments in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Molecular & Medical Genetics, and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). She obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale University and completed her Postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. Her research interests focus on the use of real-time imaging and low-input next-generation sequencing to investigate the genetic, epigenetic, and chromosomal requirements of early embryogenesis and placentation in humans, non-human primates (NHPs), and other mammals. In particular, her laboratory is investigating the underlying mechanisms mediating meiotic versus mitotic chromosome mis-segregation, embryonic micronuclei formation, and potential aneuploidy resolution during peri-implantation development. Moreover, she is also examining the molecular connections between the formation of the placental-derived trophectoderm layer in embryos and subsequent placentation between normal and complicated pregnancies in both humans and NHPs. Collectively, the goals of this research are to enhance our understanding of embryogenesis and placentation across primate species, whilst improving assisted reproduction outcomes for infertile couples by preventing embryo or fetal loss during pregnancy.

Paul Kievit, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Metabolic Health & Disease

Paul Kievit is an Associate Professor and Interim Chief of the Division of Metabolic Health & Disease. Dr. Kievit has several areas of interest with an overall focus on the impact of obesity and energy homeostasis on human health, as well as understanding how particular therapies can intervene. A diverse and highly motivated team investigates areas such as the impact of maternal obesity on the developing metabolic systems in the offspring, the contribution of obesity to diseases like HIV and Covid-19 and studying novel therapies for weight loss and type-2 diabetes.  His laboratory uses techniques like pancreatic islets isolations, immunohistochemistry approaches like RNAscope in tissues and numerous in-vivo animal techniques like hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps and intravenous glucose tolerance tests to determine the impact on the pancreas and other organs.   As a highly collaborative scientist, he has facilitated interactions with scientists on a global level to provide access to the nonhuman primate obesity model he has developed. Before joining the faculty at ONPRC in 2014, Dr. Kievit received his initial training in neurotoxicology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, continued training at Oregon Health & Science University in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology as well as postdoctoral training at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

Donald Conrad, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Genetics

Dr. Conrad is a world-renowned expert in genetics/genomics and the development of bioinformatics pipelines/platforms for the efficient assessment and management of genetic data. He played a leading role in mapping and characterizing the functional impact of human chromosomal structural variants. He also developed novel statistical methods for identifying de novo point mutations from next-generation sequencing data and used this to estimate germline mutation rates from parent-offspring trios as part of the 1000 genomes project. Another major emphasis of his research includes defining the origins of mutation and the distribution of mutation frequencies that impact gametogenesis, fertilization, and pregnancy. Dr. Conrad received his training at the University of Chicago and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute prior to joining Washington University in St. Louis, where he led a successful research group in the Department of Human Genetics. Dr. Conrad joined the ONPRC in 2018 to lead the newly established Division of Genetics.