Sierra Acker - Operations Manager, Marquam Hill
(she/her)

Sierra joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2017 as a Project Coordinator supporting our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI Program). She was promoted to a Process Improvement Specialist in 2018 as she continued to manage and grow the CQI Program for OHSU Marquam Hill as well as Hillsboro Medical Center. Sierra is now the Emergency Medicine Operations Manager for OHSU Marquam Hill and continues to have oversight over the CQI programs, as well as managing our administrative team and recruitment efforts. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and paddle boarding with her husband, as well as spending time with her large family and her cats.

Rebekkah Anderson - Administrative Coordinator - Education
(she/her)

Rebekkah joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2021. She loves anything Sci-fi, the great Oregon outdoors, and she a coffee nut. 

Sean Babcock - Informatician II

Sean joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2021. Some of Sean's professional interests include electronic circuit design and simulation, bioinformatics algorithms, machine learning for both data analysis and genetic discovery, and image analysis in disease detection, clinical treatment and radiogenomics. Outside of work Sean enjoys hiking and backpacking, snowshoeing and skiing, fly fishing, woodworking, drawing, and painting. 

Nathan Bahr, Ph.D. - Informatician III

Nathan joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2023. Nathan has a passion for working on the integration between clinical and technical systems. He has a hobby of studying visual recognition algorithms with the goal of finding a real-world clinical application for it.

Kierstin Baughman - Administrative Coordinator - Columbia Memorial Hospital and Immediate Care Virtual Visits
(she/her)

Kierstin joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in June 2023. She has worked at Columbia Memorial Hospital for the past 8 years. She loves working in the community she grew up in! Her professional focus is to provide administrative support for optimal growth and development. She enjoys playing volleyball, hiking, and the outdoors with her son when she is not at work.

Jolynn Best - Finance and Accounting Analyst
(she/her)

Jolynn joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in June 2023. She comes from owning/operating senior care homes in southern Oregon. Previously she managed reporting, and monitoring, and evaluation for aid, relief, and development projects in Afghanistan for Mercy Corps, DAI, and ICMA. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, camping, and traveling with her husband and adorable Australian Shepherd.

Nicole Bernath -  Program Technician, Hillsboro Medical Center

Nicole joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2018. Nicole has 10+ years of experience working at a local CPA firm. Nicole loves cats and has a tortoiseshell that is always hungry. She is also recently engaged to her boyfriend of nine years. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, crafting, and making things. Nicole recently picked up sewing and enjoys how rewarding it can be when a project turns out well. 

Misty Caffey -  Program Technician - Education

Misty joined the Emergency Medicine department in 2024 but has worked at OHSU in various roles for over 10 years. She loves the outdoors, including hiking, SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboarding), horseback riding, and kayaking. Misty also enjoys reading, learning new things, being creative with crafts, and relaxing on the couch with her three cats.

Scott Christman - Finance and Revenue Cycle Manager

Scott joined OHSU in 2012 where he has worked in the OHSU Practice plan as their Senior Financial Analyst. He graduated from Portland State University with degrees in Finance and Information Systems. Before starting his career in finance Scott also played baseball at Oregon State University and spent some time with the Chicago White Sox organization. When Scott is away from work he enjoys hiking, fishing, golf and home remodeling projects.

Jenny Cook, B.A., G.C.P.H. - Senior Research Project Manager
(she/her)

Jenny is the Program Administrator for the Oregon Multidisciplinary Training Program in Emergency Care Research, a program aims to train the next generation of clinician-scientists. She is also the Project Coordinator for the OHSU SIREN Network and manages an R24 Grant titled “The Value of Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Care of Children”, Craig Newgard, PI. She began working for Emergency Medicine in 2001 as an Emergency Transport Coordinator before moving to the research side of Emergency Medicine in 2007, where she provided program and research support for the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium, the Greenwall POLST Registry Pilot Project, subsequent statewide Oregon POLST Registry, and the Neurological Emergencies Treatment Trials (NETT). Jenny has a Graduate Certificate in Public Health and excels at project development, establishing interdisciplinary teams, interagency relationships, communications, project management, and public speaking. In her off hours, she can be found enjoying family life with her 2 sons and husband, dancing ballet, volunteering, enjoying the outdoors or taking a rare moment to enjoy a good book.

Abby Dotson, Ph.D. - Director - POLST Registry
(she/her)

Abby comes to Emergency Medicine from the Technology Transfer and Business Development office. She joined OHSU in 2013 where she worked as a postdoctoral scientist for almost three years. In her spare time, Abby loves exploring Portland with her wife, Jen, and their one-year-old son, Lux. She's a fan of the Portland Thornes and hiking (but she'd settle for one night of uninterrupted sleep).

Sonya Glavcic -  Computer User Support Analyst II
(she/her)

Sonya joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2018. While off campus, she loves spending time with her husband, two sons and extended family.

Maria Gutierrez  -  Research Assistant II (POLST)

Maria joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2022. Maria's professional interests are psychology, neuroscience, and child development. When off work, she enjoys museums, coffee shops, and photography.

Denise Griffiths, B.S., C.C.R.P.  - Senior Research Project Manager

Denise is the Department's Research Manager and specializes in grants and contracts administration and budgeting. She serves as the SIREN Network Project Manager and assists with study coordination of other research projects within the department. She has also served as Project Manager/Coordinator in several federally funded Networks over the years including Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment (REACT), EMERGEncy ID NET Network, Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Trial, and the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) Network. Denise is trained under the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA) as a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP). She joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in January 1996 and has been integral to the research endeavors CPR-EM has accomplished over the years. In her spare time, Denise enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading and being outdoors.

Mike Hildebrand - Sr. System Application Analyst

Mike joined the department in 2017 and currently serves as a System Application Analyst, working in conjunction with CID.

Raya Johnson - Community Research Liaison, Sr
(she/her)

Raya Johnson joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2019. Raya earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Portland State University in Psychology and Criminology and Criminal Justice. In her personal time, Ray likes to read, play video games, and hike.

Katie Kenna  - Program Technician - Adventist Team

Katie Kenna joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2019. She has been with OHSU for 13 years working for The Casey Eye Institute. Katie met her husband working here at OHSU and they have a 1-year old daughter named Charlotte (Charlie). She loves Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel. 

Nancy Le, R.N. - Clinical Research Associate

Nancy oversees clinical trial compliance with study protocols, ICH-GCP, local laws, regulations, institutional policies and quality standards. She expertly manages study site activities from training and education, patient screening, consent and enrollment and ensures the collection of accurate, high quality, clinical study data. She also coordinates pre-site qualification, and study monitoring visits with study sponsors. Nancy began her career at OHSU in 2010 as a Research Assistant with the Oregon POLST Registry and has subsequently been involved in 10 research studies to date.

Amber Laurie Lin, M.S. - Biostatistician III
(she/her)

Amber is a staff biostatistician with the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency medicine and an instructor with the School of Public Health. Amber supports investigators in the Center for Policy and Research in Emergency, Department of Emergency Medicine, and Oregon Emergency Care Research Multidisciplinary Training Program. She advises and assists investigators and scholars with grant applications, study design, and data analysis. Amber has a Master's in Biostatistics from OHSU, and she began working for Emergency Medicine in 2014. When Amber isn't working, she's usually at the park or playing music with her daughter, Jane.

Susan Malveau, M.S. - Research Data Analyst IV

Sue is a software engineer who joined the department in 2008. With an MS in Biomedical Engineering and more than two decades of software design experience, Sue enjoys using her programming skills to automate tasks associated with the analysis of electronic data. She also serves as the CPR-EM Data manager, ensuring the appropriate storage and security of all project data. Sue also enjoys designing web-based applications that incorporate creative data visualization tools.

Lacey Novak - Community Research Liaison, Sr
(she/her)

Lacey Novak joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2019 as a Research Assistant 1 with the POLST Registry. Lacey is a Portland native who has just graduated from Portland Sate University with her Bachelor of Science degree. She is looking to pursue her career in Research. Outside of work, Lacey enjoys birdwatching, being outdoors, and spending time with her cat.

Nick Patrick - Clinical Research Assistant II
(he/him)

Nick joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2022. He received his B.S. in Biology from Oakland University in Rochester, MI, in 2011 and received his M.D. in 2020 from AUC School of Medicine. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, running, kayaking, skiing, fish keeping and aquascaping, and table-top gaming.

Katarina Petrovic - Program Technician, Marquam Hill
(she/her)

Katarina joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2022. Katarina graduated from Salt Lake Community College in 2019 with an associate’s degree in Psychology and later from Portland State University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice. For the last 6 years, she has worked in the administrative field. She enjoys reading books, rewatching all Harry Potter movies, hiking, and spoiling her cat.

Jennifer Perrigo - Operations Manager for Community Practice

Jen has been working at Columbia Memorial Hospital for the past 11 years, providing support to maximize utilization of resources to optimize patient center care. She is a native to the small community of Astoria.  In her spare time, she enjoys photography, strength training, hiking, paddle boarding, spending time with family and always seeking out a good sunset.

Jennifer Ramirez - Finance Coordinator

Jennifer joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Spring of 2022. Living in the PNW most of her life, Jennifer enjoys all of the beauty that Oregon offers. Whether it is creating art on a snowy Saturday afternoon, a weekend trip to the coast, or one of the family-owned farms on Sauvie Island, you can't go wrong. Jennifer has enjoyed her time at OHSU and is excited about this journey. She brings over 15 years of support experience.

Kim Regner, M.A. - Sr. Education Manager
(she/her)

Kim first joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2014 to 2018. She returned in 2020 in the role of Sr. Education Manager to assist in leading the education mission for the department and supervising the residency, fellowship, and medical student programs. Professionally she has been in Higher Education and Medical Education for over 10 years, and has worked with both the GME and UME programs. Kim has a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Nottingham, and is a notary public. In her spare time she and her husband enjoy hiking, traveling, game nights with friends, exploring Oregon wine country, and are huge Portland Timber’s fans!

Stefanie Roland - Associate Department Administrator for Community Practice
(she/her)

Stefanie has been with Emergency Medicine since 2012. When not in the department, Stefanie enjoys hosting dinner parties and social gatherings with her husband.

Jeffrey "Jeff" Smith - Clinical Research Assistant II
(he/him)

Jeff joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2022. Jeff’s professional interests include pre hospital care, Wilderness Emergency Medicine, and medicine in austere or low resource environments. When not at work, he likes outdoor activities such as climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and helping fire ecologists collect tree chronology data. Jeff also enjoys playing music when he gets the chance.

Liz Shatzer, M.Ed. -  Residency Education Manager
(she/her)

Liz joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2022. She is returning to OHSU after spending the last six years at Portland State University. Prior to PSU, Liz worked in Admissions & Student Affairs with the OHSU School of Nursing. In her spare time, she loves international travel, cheering for the Portland Timbers & Thorns, and spending time with her Bernese Mountain Dog.

Maja Strusinska-Thayer -  Clinical Research Assistant II
(she/her)

Maja joined the department in 2024. Prior to starting as a Regulatory/Study Coordinator, Maja was part of the Clinical Research Investigative Studies Program (CRISP) at OHSU and served as a project lead for 3 projects. She hopes to one day attend medical school and is interested in practicing Emergency Medicine and continuing in research. Outside of work, Maja enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and exploring the PNW with her friends.

Mirjana Kasap Trifunovic, J.D. - Department Administrator and Vice Chair for Administrative Affairs
(she/her)

Mirjana joined the department in 2017, and currently serves as the Department Administrator and the Vice Chair for Administrative Affairs.

Lindsay Tillman - Program Technician 
(she/her)

Lindsay Tillman has been with OHSU since 2017 and joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2019. Lindsay earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from Western Oregon University before serving in the United States Navy for 6 years. In her personal time, Lindsay enjoys spending time with her husband and her 2 dogs, golfing, and fishing.  They love to travel all over the US and enjoy taking trips to visit their family and friends they met while in the Navy.

Dalton Wesemann - Clinical Research Assistant II
(he/him)

Dalton joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2023 as a Study Coordinator. He graduated from Portland State University in 2022 with a double majors in Community Health Promotion and Urban & Public Affairs. He is currently a graduate student in the Health Management & Policy program at OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. He has worked in the Clinical Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry departs here at OHSU for the last two years, where he has been Undergraduate Research Assistant and a Clinical Research Assistant 2. In this position, he researched negative parenting, use of ketamine for treating suicidality and depression, catatonia, and aggression. He is broadly interested in health outcomes of youth. After completing his masters he plans to get a Ph.D. in Clinical or Health psychology. In his free time, he enjoys reading, watching sports, and going to concerts.

Chynna Williams - Research Assistant II (POLST)
(she/her)

Chynna joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in April 2022. Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, Chynna moved to Oregon in 2018 and enjoys all the PNW has to offer. Some of her hobbies include dancing, cycling, and camping.

Kym Whitten - Administrative Coordinator, Marquam Hill
(she/her)

Kym joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in February 2023. Kym has a background in business development, admin, and customer service with coordination of large events. She loves the theater, arts, museums, musicals, knitting, and baking. She also loves spending time with her husband and granddaughter and traveling.

Colleen Uzaekwe - Research Assistant I
(she/her)

Colleen joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in July 2024. Colleen is a University of Oregon track and field alumni. She is currently attending Fresno State University for Track N Field. She loves to read, cook, and outdoor adventures.

Marie-Annick (Annick) Yagapen – Research Project Manager
(she/her)

Annick first joined the CPR-EM from 2007 to 2018. She is returning in 2022 to redevelop, coordinate and administer the CRISP program. The Clinical Research Investigative Studies Program (CRISP) Program exposes vetted pre-health students to the world of clinical research in emergency medicine through prospective ED research projects at the Marquam Hill campus.  Annick has an MPH in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from OHSU, a BS in Biological Sciences degree from France, and the Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) certification. Her interest spans a variety of topics ranging from intercultural integration, family time, volunteering at the theatre, traveling, hiking, CGC dog training, foodie nights, exploring the outdoors, and wine country.