STAFF & INVESTIGATORS

David Buckley, MD, Investigator
Dr. Buckley received his medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque in 1993 and did his residency in the school's Department of Family and Community Medicine. From 1996 to 1998 he served as an attending physician at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic in Keene, New Hampshire. In 1999 he joined Kaiser Permanente as an attending physician until 2001, when he joined the faculty of the Oregon Health & Science University as an Assistant Professor in Family Medicine. Dr. Buckley completed an NIH NRSA post-doctoral fellowship in primary care research, which included work on an MPH degree in epidemiology and biostatistics. He has been a research investigator with ORPRN since 2003 and serves as Vice Chairman of the Scientific Review Committee. Dr. Buckley is Co-PI of the ORPRN Preventive Services study in 2004 and is preparing to serve as PI on an ORPRN study examining the provision of preventive services to rural residents receiving chronic opioid therapy. He is also working with OHSU's Alzheimer's Research Center on a study of dementia screening in rural primary care practices.

Melinda Davis, MA, Eastern Regional Research Coordinator
Ms. Davis has previous experience in community program management, sports medicine, and in community and medical research. She is completing a PhD in social/developmental psychology from the University of Vermont (Burlington) with an emphasis on community and rural health. She also has an honors BA in biology-environmental studies from Whitman College. Originally a Columbia Gorge native and an outdoor enthusiast, Melinda is excited to live in the heart of the Grande Ronde Valley conducting ORPRN research to improve quality of life and medical service delivery in rural communities. .

Lyle "L.J." Fagnan, MD, Network Director and Investigator
Dr. Fagnan has been with the Network since it was founded. He received his medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland and following his internship in Hartford, Connecticut he joined the Indian Health Service in Bethel, Alaska where he was a general medical officer and was the Community Health Director for the Bethel IHS Service Unit. He completed his residency training at the University of Washington Family Practice Residency of Southwest Idaho in 1977. He has been board certified in Family Medicine since 1977. In 1977, Dr. Fagnan founded a medical clinic in the rural community of Reedsport, Oregon, which was one of the 13 model rural practices funded by the Robert Johnson Foundation's Rural Practice Project. Later he and the clinic were part of the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network (ASPN), a national practice based-research network. Dr. Fagnan served at the Reedsport clinic for 16 years before joining the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in 1993 as medical director of OHSU Gabriel Park Family Health Center and is an associate professor of family medicine. In 2002, Dr. Fagnan was named as Director of the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network. Dr. Fagnan is the PI of several ORPRN studies, including: Evidence-Based Practices: An Opportunity to Prevent Behavioral Health Disorders; the National Children's Study PBRN pilot; the Clinical Information Study; Primary Care Network Survey I and II; and the Rural Clerkship Project. He is also a co-investigator on several active ORPRN studies, including: Osteoporosis Screening in Rural Oregon; the Rural Oregon Immunization Initiative; and Using IT to Improve Mediation Safety for Rural Elders.

Monica Goubaud, MA, LPN, Coastal Regional Research Coordinator
Ms. Goubaud is a Licensed Practical Nurse, with a BA in Latin American Studies, and an MA in Medical Anthropology. She was a hospice nurse in Newport and was previously on staff at the Siletz Community Health Clinic. Ms. Goubaud worked as a clinical research coordinator for 10 years, managing research trials of investigational drugs in family and psychiatric practice settings. Her office is in Lincoln City.

LeAnn Michaels, Network Manager
Ms. Michaels joins ORPRN with a background in research design and implementation. After completing a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, she recruited patients for a glaucoma and genetics study at Casey Eye Institute (OHSU) and for clinical trials at the Vancouver Clinic. From 2001 to 2008 Ms. Michaels worked as the Clinical Research Manager of the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI) at OHSU. She is the project manager of the Colonoscopy in Rural Oregon Practice (CROP) study, the joint project between CORI and ORPRN.

Ms. Michaels grew up in the farming country of the Red River Valley of northern Minnesota. She has a degree in Food and Nutrition (Dietetics) from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND and a degree in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota-Moorhead. Please welcome LeAnn to the ORPRN Team.

Jo Mahler, MS, Senior Research Associate
Jo Mahler joined ORPRN in Fall of 2006. She is responsible for research project management, program evaluation, and assisting with research design and data management systems development. She has an MS in Counseling education and spent more than two years in Anchorage, Alaska as a mental health therapist with sexual abuse/assault survivors and a senior legal assistant for Alaska oil and gas royalties litigations. Most recently, Jo worked in Sitka, Alaska as the Data and Program Evaluation Specialist at an Alaska Native rural health consortium for the CDC's "Steps to a Healthier US" cooperative agreement intitiative.

Ms. Mahler worked in research capacities at OHSU for 17 years, primarily as a Research Associate in the Department of Pyschiatry. Prior to this she worked as a certified respiratory therapist for 12 years.

Paul McGinnis, MPA, Community Health, Quality and Practice Development Director
Paul McGinnis joined the ORPRN staff July 1, 2005 as ORPRN's Community Health and Practice Development Director. In this capacity he will provide and/or arrange for technical assistance services to ORPRN practices, communities, organizations, and public bodies.

Mr. McGinnis will help ORPRN to design, develop, and conduct projects related to community based participatory research and will coordinate with the ORPRN Practice Enhancement and Research Coordinators (PERCs) to support ORPRN’s work in rural areas. He will also assist rural health care providers by disseminating information regarding policy development, regulations, reimbursement and other issues relevant to rural practice.

Mr. McGinnis was previously the Director of Field Services at OHSU’s Office of Rural Health, and he will continue to provide guidance and training to the staff of that office. Mr. McGinnis has 22 years of experience providing services to rural communities throughout the nation. He is the creator of the Community Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) community health development model which directly involves citizens in improving health status and health resources in rural areas and has been used by hundreds of communities nationwide.

Paul has a BS in Community Development from Penn State University and a Masters in Public Administration from Valdosta State University.

Cynthia "Cindy" Morris, PhD, Research Director and Investigator
Dr. Cynthia Morris will serve as interim Research Director for the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network as of May 1, 2005.

She is a Professor of Medicine at OHSU and serves as the Vice Chair of the OHSU Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology. She received a Master of Public Health degree in 1982, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology in 1985 from the University of Washington. At OHSU, Dr. Morris researches the etiology and epidemiology of congenital heart disease and the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Morris helped guide the development of ORPRN and is a member of the Scientific Review Committee. As Research Director, she will work with ORPRN researchers, rural clinicians/practices, and partners to develop a systematic approach to our research program focusing on research design, methods, data management, analysis and publications. [read biosketch]

Nancy Rollins, BA, Research Associate
Ms. Rollins joined ORPRN in 2005 and serves as a research associate on a number of ORPRN projects. Prior to joining ORPRN, Ms. Rollins worked in the OHSU Family Medicine department for 12 years, where she served as a development project coordinator. She managed grant financials, organized educational and training programs, and produced a newsletter. Prior to coming to OHSU, Nancy worked as a graphic artist. She received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University.