Oregon
Chapter
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Taylor Mighell, NGP Graduate Student, Presented with C.W. Cotterman AwardTaylor Mighell, NGP graduate student in Brian O'Roak's lab, was presented with C.W. Cotterman Award at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in October. His donors are Susan and George Swindells. -
Nate Yoder's Paper Published in Nature, International Journal of ScienceCongratulations to NGP student, Nate Yoder on his new paper in Nature! For the first time, researchers in the Vollum Institute have determined the atomic structure of an acid-sensing ion channel (ASIC) in a resting state at high pH. His donor is the Bechen Family Foundation. -
Elizabeth Holzenthal Receives Prestigious NSF Graduate FellowshipCongratulations to OSU College of Engineering, ARCS scholar Elizabeth Holzenthal, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, coastal and ocean engineering. Elizabeth was recently named a recipient of an NSF Graduate Fellowship, (GRFP). Elizabeth, a first year scholar, is working on a project aimed at contributing to the development of a new generation of natural hazard engineering. Her donors are Diane and Dick Alexander. -
Kevin Watanabe-Smith Wins Statewide 3MT CompetitionARCS Scholar Kevin Watanabe-Smith, who studies cancer biology in Dr. Brian Druker's lab, took first place at the state's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Kevin was sponsored by the Allan Price Memorial ARCS Award. -
ARCS Scholar Danielle Robinson Awarded 2016 Mozilla Fellowship for ScienceDanielle Robinson, Ph.D. candidate in the OHSU School of Medicine Neuroscience Graduate Program, is one of four fellows selected worldwide to receive the Mozilla Fellowship for Science. Her donors are Ellen and Mark Richardson.
Scholar Alumni
ARCS Scholar Alums, We’d Like to Hear from You!
If you are an ARCS Scholar from the Oregon Chapter, we would love to hear from you. You are a vital part of our mission. Your stories and accomplishments encourage our current scholars as well as help us attract new funding for future scholars.
Stay connected with the Oregon Chapter members by updating your profile by navigating to the Member & Scholar Login. We want to hear about your accomplishments, recognition, and career path. If you need help, email us at oregon@arcsfoundation.org.
Oregon Chapter Scholar Alums
After ARCS funding is completed (three years), the students become ARCS Alums and they continue with their research for another two to three years before receiving their PhDs.
Oregon ARCS Alums are making their mark in the scientific world with post-doctoral positions. ARCS Alums are advancing health care, science and technology to improve the human condition in fields of research that include asthma, cancer, cardiovascular treatment, neurodegenerative disorders, environmental issues (i.e. radiation), and computer science. We are proud of their accomplishments.
Quick Jump to Oregon Chapter ARCS Scholar Alums by University Oregon Health & Science University Scholar Alums
Oregon State University Scholar Alums
University of OregonOregon Health & Science University Scholar Alums School of Medicine
Tara White Adams Thrombosis and haemostasis Allison Anacker Stafford Gender differences in substance abuse, addiction and susceptibilty to relapse Devon Anderson Developing a tissue engineering approach of building three-dimensional articular cartilage from adult stem cells in order to repair damaged cartilage in degenerative joint diseases Pierre Apostolides Neuron regulation and synaptic communication specificity Amanda Barkley-Levenson Identify neurological and genetic correlates of binge drinking with the aim of finding means to prevent excessive alcohol intake Zachary Beattie Correlation between heart failfure and cognitive impairment Ethan Beckley Reproductive hormone impact on the structure and function of the nervous system Samuel Berk Identify and characterize causative agents in high-pressure associated glaucoma Yosef Berlow Clinical neuroimaging Michelle Berny Molecular mechanisms of blood clotting Tina Bloom Health disparities in maternal child-health outcomes in the U.S. and the complex relationships between risk factors for these outcomes Ted Braun Inflammation of the hypothalamus and how it relates to muscle mass loss in chronic diseases Christina Brow Bioremediation and environmental health, the effects of freezing DNA Eran Brown Application of engineering principles to problems in translational cardiovascular medicine Kalmia Smith Buels Interactions between peripheral nerves in the lungs and immune cells Delia Chiu Mechanisms of learning and memory Reena Clements How neurons are able to extend their axons to make connections in distant target areas; specifically the role of dystroglycan on visual system development Robert Conley Targeted imaging method for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular pathologies Holly Corbitt Cardiovascular genetics, using bioinformatics and computational modeling to discover the genetic variants in the ciliome that contribute to AVSD Anita Cservenka Emotional processing of alcoholism in youth using neuroimaging and behavioral methods Amanda Senrud Dayton Behavior of light in breast tissue Quin Denfeld Understanding the processes that lead to cancer (focus on p53, a tumor suppressor gene) and creating more effective treatments Tiffany DeVine Understanding the processes that lead to cancer and creating more effective treatments Lauren Dobbs Brain circuits and neurotransmitters affected by drugs with high addiction potential Julia Doh Microbial pathogenecity and immunity Keith Earley How the structural cells of the pancreas, known as stellate cells, become activated in pancreatic cancer and drive tumor progression David Edwards Investigating gene expression patterns within subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to identify mechanisms of chemotheraphy resistance and improve targeted therapy Madalynn Erb Cellular and molecular neuroscience as it applies to neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration Rebecca Foster Brain mechanisms involved in cocaine addiction Sami Friedrich Neural and genetic mechanisms that have evolved to support speech and language Jimmy Gladish Cell alignment and structure using special depolarization of light Jeremy Glynn Cardiovascular tissue engineering, biomaterial for cardiovascular devices Wilmon Grant Pathways and signals that regulate process of cachexia in loss of lean body mass Aaron Grossberg Neuron process of cachexia; how communication between the immune, endocrine and nervous systems influence disease process Sarah Hackenmueller Effects of drug action on biolgical signaling mechanisms Nora Hammack Researches pain by recording the electrical activity of neurons in the brain stem of rats; exploring the effect of light on pain Molly Harding Genetic regulation of neurogenesis Megan Herting White matter microstructural characteristics and impulse behavior in adolescents Will Horton Addiction Tyler Hulett Cancer immunology Jeannie Hunnicutt How a developing nervous system becomes established and wired Ravi Iyer Patho-immune system interactions and zoonotic infections Brian Jones Mechanisms by which the adult brain generates new neurons to modulate afferent pathways innervating the hippocampal neurogenic niche Scott Jones Neuroimaging techniques to look at structural and functional aspects of the developing adolescent brain, understanding the impact of binge-drinking on the development of the adolescent brain, and how changes in brain activity lead to neurocognitive deficits Amber Jones-Hackathorne Fluorescence spectroscopy to map distances within proteins Elad Kaufman Physiology and pharmacology Nate Klett Synaptic plasticity in hippocampi interneurons Gabe Knoll Neuroendocrinology John Koberstein Dynamic regulation of metabolism underlying brain function Paul Kramer Studying how drugs of abuse exert their control over the brain, especially during addiction disorders Tina Kruger Neurodegenerative disorders Sidney Kuo Auditory system processing acoustic information Wai Yan Lam Imaging technology to elucidate molecular signaling in breast cancer pathways Alexandria Lassetter Role of glia, a diverse class of cells in the nervious system, in axon maintenance Emily Leff Cellular mechanisms underlying tolerance and dependence to opiods Joseph Leffler Circuitry of the mammalian visual system and how the retina processes visual information Haley Licon Adaptation in the human pathogen Leishmania, which afflicts over 22 million people Jordan Lueras Effects of adolescent alcohol use on brain development and cognition using functional magnetic resonance imaging Jessica Martin The adaptive response of Leishmania donovani to purine starvation Glynis Brown Mattheisen Relationship between G-protein-coupled receptors and voltage-gated sodium channels Julia Maxson Iron metabolism and hemocromatosis Whitney McGee Neuroendoctrine reulation of reproductive function Taylor Mighell Genetics of the developing nervous system Dan Miller Investigates how the protein dystroglycan guides multiple aspects of brain development, focusing specifically on how it controls formation of specific connections between neurons called synapses Caitlin Monaghan Molecular pathogenesis of OCD-spectrum disorders Luci Moore Mapping the functional microcircuitry of the auditory system using electrophysiology as a way to study how the brain computes information Rory Morgan Investigating a class of enzymes involved in the regulation of numerous cellular processes that operate during normal as well as diseased states Gabriela Morin-Webb Virology, immunology and vaccine devlopment Ryan Mulqueen The genetic components of neurological disease and development Kevin Murphy Medical Chemistry Thomas Navis Comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse Mahta Nili Structure-function of RGMc, a protein involved with iron regulation Nichole Owen Cytogenetics, fanconi, DNA repair processes and disorders, chromosome structure and maintenance Melanie Pina Neurochemical, neuroanatomical and genetic mechanisms underlying drug reward Chayne Piscitelli Solving the X-ray crystal structure of a bacterial neurotransmitter transporter homolog bound to a competitive inhibitor Trish Pruis Brain and hormonal basis of emotion in older women Alexandra Quackenbush Unique liver environment in the postpartum host and how this environment promotes breast cancer liver metastasis Carolynn Rafa Todd Neural mechanisms underlying disorders of learning and memory such as addiction and PTSD Benjamin Rakela Elucidating the role of glia in neuronal transmission Rebecca Richards Cytomegalovirus immunoregulatory Art Riddle Perinatal medicine, neurotoxicology labs, events that shape the developing brain Danielle Robinson Superresolution imaging of synaptic proteins Hillary Rodgers Physiology of ion channels and transporters expressed in the nervous system Quinn Roth-Carter Developing novel methods to determine how eosinophils manipulate sensory nerves in the skin Abby Rynko Understanding how respiratory viruses induce asthma exacerbations and airway hyperreactivity Katherine Saylor Hearing transduction in sensory hair cells Christopher Schafer Site directed spectroscopic methods coupled with computational modeling to investigate membrane protein structure and dynamics Benjamin Scholl Quantum dots and interface between technology, neuroscience and medicine Zachary Schwartz Strategies the brain uses to distinguish relevant from irrelevant sensory information Mariya Shapiro Working to understand how antibodies can block HIV transmission from mothers to their babies Jessica Siegel Aging and Alzheimer's disease Laura Springgay Investigating how herpes viruses evade the immune system in order to establish life-long infections in humans and monkeys Eric Stoffregen Molecular and genetic mechanisms of cancer Gail Stonebarger Examines the interactions between aging, diet, and hormone status to observe measures of brain health, in order to understand how and why our brains age the way they do Allison Terwilliger Community health concepts Karen Thiebes Molecular and cellular interactions involved in coaxing neural progenitor cels into neurons Shane Tillo High-resolution optical and electrophysiological techniques to study the nervous system Karen Tonsfeldt Behavioral and physiological effects of steroid hormones Garth Tormoen Regulatory mechanisms for the procoagulant activity of circulating tissue factor Christopher Vaaga Electrophysiological mechanisms underlying early sensory transduction Katy Van Hook Tumor suppressor variants and protein interaction Keri Vartanian Cardiovascular engineering; understanding endothelial cell dysfunction leading to atherosclerosis Charlene Voorhees Extinction of ethanol conditioned place preference in mice Kevin Watanabe-Smith How to better treat leukemia by using DNA mutations and recreates them in cell lines grown in a petri dish; identifies the mutation signal pathways and tests clinically approved drugs to find the best treatment Sydney Weber Boutros Neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's disease, and exploring new treatments Lillian Welch Klug Novel therapies for the treatment of the chemotherapy-and radiation-resistant KIT-mutant cancers Elaine Wells-Gray Techniques to study the shrinkage of dental resin composites Paul Wille Herpes virus entry and spread Amy Williams Understanding and treating dysfunctions in learning and memory that cause disorders like PTSD and addiction Clayton Winkler Disrupting interactions on T-cell extravasation and oligodendrocyte maturation in multiple sclerosis Aaron Wortham Cancer geology: the importance of the NF-kB pathway in squamous cell carcinoma Helen Wu HIV/SIV immunology and vaccine development Daniel Yaeger Synaptic physiology of neurons in auditory brainstem Nathan Yoder The molecular mechanisms that underlie memory formation and information processing at the synapse Douglas Zeppenfeld Convergence of different senses in the auditory system School of Nursing
Jenny Firkins Usage and access of palliative care Suzi Frase Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), a common cause of preterm birth Oregon State University Scholar Alums
Agricultural SciencesKali Brandt Wheat breeding and genetics Jenna Curtis Relationships between avian life history traits and community structure survival, and evolutionary biology, as well as how these relate to environmental conditions Danielle Nelson Devloping a way of examining animal communication networks by studying and simulating the behavior of chorusing frogs Matthew Slattery Nano-enabled pesticides, which capitalize on the unique properties of nanomaterials to enhance existing pesticide products Sheanna Steingass Examines the ecology of a marine mammal on the Oregon coast, the Pacific harbor seal Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Maggie Buktenica How the ecology and biogeochemistry of northern latitude regions will respond to warming induced by climate change Erin Collins Wave energy, performing a comparative sustainability analysis of differing wave energy converters Allison Einolf Arctic physical oceanography Cedric Hagen Global biogeochemical cycles in the ancient Earth Elizabeth King Seeks to understand the biogeochemical processes of elements by using non-traditional stable isotopes as a way to tease apart the various ways that soil is formed Erin Peck Coastal geochemistry Brendan Reilly Uses ocean and lake sediments to study Earth history and its paleoenvironments, glacial systems, and magnetic field Susan Schnur Seamount formation, physical volcanology of subaqueous eruptions, rheology of subaqueous lava flows Kathryn Verlinden Small-scale turbulent vertical air motions within marine boundary layer clouds using vertically-oriented Doppler radar data Daniel Watkins Uses large-scale Earth system models, satellite data, and weather balloon records to investigate interactions between the diminishing sea ice cover and the near-surface atmosphere in the Artic Sophia Wensman Seeks to provide an alternative method of measuring ocean acidification using the chemical composition of oyster shells Nancy Williams Marine carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and its role in climate Engineering
Dylan Anderson Investigating the effects of climate change on coastal landform evolution, erosion, and flood hazards Emily Caffrey Investigating the variation in plutonium partitioning in wildlife under actual environmental conditions Jarvis Caffrey Impact of radiation upon astronauts and developed a prototype detector to assess the harm caused by the unique radiation environment in space Phillip Carleton Optimization of networks, transportation and supply chain systems Patrick Clary Making bipedal robots move with agility comparable to humans and animals Brandilyn Coker Synthesizable analogue-to-digital converters, digital calibration methods, biomedical applications Alexander Egan Clinical medical physics Andrew F. Emmott Artificial intelligence, natural language processing, planning, language development Margaret Exton Trigger mechanisms of tsunami, tsunami waveforms, impact on coastal structures and soils Justin Finn Simulation of fluid flows in natural and man made systems Dallas Foster Mathematical techniques for understanding the uncertainty or randomness in data and forecasting Lucas Freiberg Storing solar energy Kyle Gallagher Impact of patient intrafraction motion in single isocenter multi-target Stereotactic Radiation Surgery treatments, with rotational motion as the primary degree of freedom Garth Gladfelder Seeks to quantify the additional burden of stress placed on plants after radioactive fallout events help inform bioremediation efforts Molly Glass Thermal hydraulics, specifically advanced reactor systems engineering Chris HolmesParker Controls and adaptive learning in multi-agent systems Elizabeth Holzenthal How coastal communities can best prepare for changing climates and storm patterns: which hazard mitigation strateties provide the most effective and sustainable protections of coastal communities and ecosystems Jesse Hostetler Activity recognition via inverse reinforcement learning Paige Hovenga How natural coastal dunes respond and recover to major storm events Trevor Howard The development of clean, efficient, cheap energy and advancements in other design-based fields Joe Juozapuitis Aims to make the use of computers in unsafe, complex, or risky environments safer and more feasible Michael Lam Computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence Calvin Lee Design and implementation of high-performance power-efficient analog-to-digital converter (ADC) architectures Jeffrey Luitjens Critical heat flux in low flow reactors and natural circulation nuclear reactors Colby Mangini Charged particle interactions and dosimetry Wade Marcum Thermal hydraulic characteristics of high performance research reactor fuel Travis Moore Applies spatial statistical techniques to the large eBird corpus in order to automatically detect areas of high species diversity, with the goal of identifying prime areas for conservation work Katarina Morowsky Human error that results in helicopter accidents Chad Nixon Experimental nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics Sarah Oman Design-oriented problem solving using mathematics Kai Parker Works to predicts how climate change will affect estuaries into the future, with an emphasis on flooding hazards Eric Patterson Lead free piezoelectric systems and their fatique related properties Rebecca Paustian Creates three-dimensional models of fluid flows through heterogeneous porous media Justin Pommerenck Applying advanced plasma oxidation processes to surpass the purification limitations of current water treatment technology Jacob Postman SRAM memory cells and methods for mult-processor communication Peter Rindal Focuses on computer security with a special interest in cryptographic protocols for secure computation Hannah Rolston Bioremediation of Industrial contaminants Sean Smith Mechanical and electronic properties of thin oxide films for microelectronic application Chris Stull Heat transfer enhancement, multiphase flow, vapor separation, two phase flow, visualization David Vasquez Medical physics Jennifer Ventralla Developing and testing a wireless sensor-based platform to measure the adoption and impacts of biomass cookstoves in low-income regions Eric Walkingshaw Language design, formal representations of variation and explanation-oriented programming Allen Waters Analog and mixed signal design Jennifer Williams Wildlife monitoring and interdisciplinary research Mark Williamson Human-machine interface issues and operations error prevention in complex systems Forestry
Chelsea Batavia The human dimensions of natural resource management and conservation Logan Berner Impact of recent droughts on forest growth, mortality, and wildfires across the western US Hailey Buckingham Answer difficult questions about wildfire polices, including the economic costs and benefits of letting fires burn, and the expected outcome, both economically and ecologically, of new policies about beneficial wildfires on Amercia's forests Gretchen Engbring Studies the multiple purposes, trade-offs and associated decision-making processes of Mexican Community Forest Enterprises (CFEs) Christal Johnson How forest management and restoration practices impact individual tree vigor and resilience to disturbances Karin Kralicek Understanding the effect of climate change on the distribution of tree species in the Pacific Northwest David Mildrexler Forest stress and mortality associated with drought and high temperature that are increasing due to a warm climate Sophia Polasky Contribute to develop theory through a case study that examines social vulnerability to climate change in West Africa; to identify the role assessment efforts play in further influencing a particular development path; and to guide policies created to assist communities identified as vulnerable Pharmacy
Science
Jacob Buchanan Developing and applying computational methods for various fields of chemistry Claire Couch Connections between the microbiome and health in African buffalo Holly Dixon Using novel silicone wristands to measure people's exposure to a wide-range of organic chemicals Josiah Gerber Functional and structural properties of biological macromolecules Caroline Glidden Host-parasite interactions in African buffalo, particularly how individuals differ in their resistance and tolerance of various gastro-intestinal and hemoparasites Gisela Abigail Gonzalez-Montiel Bioprospecting symbiotic fungi associated with Oregon Douglas Fir trees and other endophytic fungi for human health application by investigating new bioacive metabolites Shannon Hennessy Importance of predator-prey interactions in shaping communities on the rocky Oregon shores Rachael Kuintzle Interface of RNA biology and environmental toxicology William "Bryce" Penta Marine phytoplankton physiology and how we observe these microscopic plants from space with satellites University of Oregon Scholar Alums Department of Chemistry
Susan Cooper Synthesis of spinel iron oxide nanoparticles and their nanoscale structure which gives them enhanced properties, enabling their use in cancer treatment and detection and in cleaning water of heavy metals Michael Crawford How molecules behave after they absorb light; focuses on molecular "nanohoops", which have unique geometry resulting in interesting properties after they absorb light Rebecca Keller Understand what makes things spontaneous at the quantum level by exploring a new definition for quantum entropy. Amber Rolland Utilizes native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and complementary techniques to investigate the composition and lipid dependence of pore-forming toxins Institute of Ecology and Evolution
Katja Kasimatis Evolution of male reproductive proteins to better understand the complexity of fertilization Erik Toraason How cells repair DNA damage that underlies many diseases, including infertiltiy and cancers -