Faculty and Staff

Edward A. Neuwelt, M.D.

Dr. Neuwelt

Edward A. Neuwelt, M.D. is a professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. He divides his time between clinical work, primarily in the area of neuro-oncology including both operative neurosurgery and chemotherapy, and directing his research laboratory. 

Education

Dr. Neuwelt attended Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois from 1965 –1968 and then received his medical degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colorado in 1972. For his postgraduate training, Dr. Neuwelt did a surgical internship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas,Texas, 1972 –1973, followed by a Neurosurgical Residency at the same institution from 1973 –1978. During this time, Dr. Neuwelt also completed two neuro-oncology and neurosurgery research fellowships, first at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1974 –1976) and then Queen Square Hospital in London, England (1976). While at the NIH, Dr. Neuwelt also completed his military duty as a Clinical Associate (Lt. Commander) in the United States Public Health Service, Neurosurgery and Enzymology Sections in Baltimore, Maryland (July, 1974 - July, 1976). Dr. Neuwelt is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a fully trained neuro-oncologist.

Faculty appointments

In Texas, Dr. Neuwelt was assistant professor in both Surgery and Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He was also chief of the Neurosurgery Service at the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas, Texas from 1978 to 1981. Dr. Neuwelt moved his laboratory to Portland Oregon in 1981, where he joined the faculty at Oregon Health & Science University, both in the Department of Neurology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He was chief of the Neurosurgery Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon 1981 to 1989, and he maintains an affiliation with the Portland VA Neurosurgery Service.

Currently Dr. Neuwelt is a professor in the departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery. He is a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program at OHSU, and also regularly teaches the neurology and neurosurgery house staff on topics related to brain tumors.

Activities and organizations

Dr. Neuwelt is the principal investigator of two NIH R01 grants and one VA Merit Review grant. He has been a regular member of the VA Merit Review Study Section on Neurobiology, and an NIH Study Section (NSP-A) that reviews program project and center grants. Dr. Neuwelt is a regular reviewer of neuroscience-related journals, including Neurosurgery, for which he was a member of the editorial board. He initiated and is director of ThinkFirst Oregon, a brain and spinal cord injury prevention program. He has eight approved patents, five of which have been licensed to Adherex, Inc. to investigate thiol agent chemoprotection. In collaboration with Dr. James Rosenbaum and Dr. Richard Rosenbaum, Dr. Neuwelt set up and directs a science class for high school students that introduces young people to laboratory research. With regard to the BBB Program, Dr. Neuwelt has overseen the expansion of the program to eight institutions across the US and internationally, including Canada and Israel, as well as the annual Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) Consortium meeting funded by an R13 grant.

Publications

Dr. Neuwelt has written or edited several books and book chapters, and has over 200 peer reviewed scientific publications.

View a complete list of Dr. Neuwelt's publications on PubMed

Leslie L. Muldoon, Ph.D., Director of Research Operations

Dr. Leslie Muldoon is an associate professor in the Department of Neurology, with a joint appointment in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. She obtained a BS in Chemistry in 1982, and a Ph.D. in Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences in 1986 from the University of Chicago, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the OHSU Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in 1990. She has led the BBBP Preclinical Laboratory since 1990. Dr. Muldoon has extensive background in tumor and cell biology, magnetic resonance imaging, and histological and immunological methods for assessing neurotoxicity and tumor volumetrics. She has played a central role in the analysis of chemoprotective agents against chemotherapy toxicity, and the development and imaging of brain tumor models. Dr. Muldoon directs all preclinical aspects of the program, including experimental protocol development, supervision of technicians and research fellows, and writing grant proposals and scientific manuscripts.

Nancy D. Doolittle, Ph.D., R.N., Associate Director of Clinical Research

Dr. Nancy Doolittle is an associate professor in the Department of Neurology at OHSU. She obtained a master's degree in 1981, a Ph.D. in 1990, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 1991 in the Department of Physiological Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. She has been involved in the clinical care of neuroscience patients since 1974, and has been Associate Director of Clinical Research in the BBBP since 1995. Dr. Doolittle is the first author on several key publications for the BBB Program, including a multi-center assessment of BBB disruption chemotherapy, first evaluation of radiolabeled rituximab in primary CNS lymphoma, first large series report describing management and outcomes of patients with isolated brain relapse of systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and the first clinical trial of sodium thiosulfate (STS) for hearing protection. Dr. Doolittle supervises clinical protocol implementation, including subject accrual, regulatory compliance, data management, analysis and reporting. She is the coordinator for the multi-site Blood-Brain Barrier Consortium. As such, Dr. Doolittle coordinates multi-site cooperative clinical trials as well as planning the annual Consortium clinical trials meeting in the fall and the international scientific BBB meeting in the spring.

Stephanie Green

Stephanie has been with OHSU since 1993 and joined the BBBP in 2004 as a clinical trial patient coordinator. She schedules patient tests, consultations, admissions, and manages communication with insurance companies.

Julie Nanthathammiko

Julie joined the BBBP in October 2014 as the front office administrative assistant. She schedules and manages the outpatient clinic and provides general administrative support.

Lisa Muir, M.P.A.: H.A., C.C.R.P.

Lisa has a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Portland State University and received her Master Degree in Public Health Administration in 2010. She is also a Certified Clinical Research Professional. Lisa has been with the BBBP for over 24 years, first as a laboratory technician and then for the past 16 years as the Program Administrator. She serves as grant, contract, and financial administrator for the NIH and VA grants and contracts that fund the BBBP preclinical and clinical research. She assists in development, submission and management of clinical research proposals. As a clinical study coordinator, Lisa assures adherence to protocols, assures compliance with IRB, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and FDA requirements, and monitors patients and patient tests for adverse events and outcomes.

Amy Huddleston, M.P.A.: H.A., C.C.R.P.

Amy has a BA in International Studies and Spanish and received her Master Degree in Public Health Administration from Portland State University in 2010. She is a Research Associate and a Certified Clinical Research Professional. Before completing her master's, Amy was the Patient Care Coordinator for 4 years. Since 2014, she has been the Clinical Manager as well as one of the Clinical Study Coordinators within the program. She assists in the development, submission and management of clinical research proposals, assures adherence to protocols, compliance with IRB, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and FDA requirements, and monitors patients and patient tests for adverse events and outcomes.

Heather Leon

Heather has been at OHSU since 2004 and joined the BBBP in December 2015 as an Administrative Coordinator. She assists with various office duties, manages Dr. Neuwelt's extensive travel schedule, coordinates manuscript preparation and submissions, and leads the planning and development of the Annual Blood-Brain Barrier Conference.

Samantha Holland, B.S.

Samantha graduated from PSU in June of 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a determination to begin a career in cancer research. In October of 2018, that goal was realized when she joined the Blood-Brain Barrier Program as a Research Assistant I. Samantha performs a wide range of research support activities such as immunohistochemistry, cell culture and in vitro assays and is responsible for the upkeep of much of the laboratory. She also assists with animal studies and is preparing to take on some of her own. Samantha also has a deep interest in microscopy and is currently training with the OHSU Advanced Light Microscopy Core to advance her imaging abilities

Laszlo Szidonya, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Szidonya joined the BBBP as a Research Instructor in 2016. His main interest involves the application of ferumoxytol in CNS imaging. Dr. Szidonya received his M.D. from Semmelweis University, Budapest in 2001. He studied the signaling characteristics of the AT1 angiotensin receptor, receiving his Ph.D. in 2008. He started a residency in Radiology at Semmelweis University in 2007, completing his specialization in 2012. From 2009 to 2016, he had been working at the Heart and Vascular Center of Semmelweis University, focusing on neuroradiology.

Gerda Teglassy, M.D.

Dr. Teglassy is a trained vascular surgeon who finished her residency and fellowship in Hungary in 2014. She joined the BBBP in 2016 to widen her spectrum in advanced imaging research and was working on ferumoxytol enhanced MR imaging in cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases. In 2019, she decided to go back to training and started a general surgery residency at OHSU. After completing two years, Dr. Teglassy decided to pursue a research year and rejoined our group in July 2021. She is currently participating in both clinical work (outpatient and inpatient care of Neuro-Oncology patients) and research in advanced MRI imaging.

Related: visit the Department of Radiation Medicine

Jerry Jaboin, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Jaboin completed his medical and doctoral degrees through Howard University and the Graduate Program Partnerships of the National Cancer Institute. He subsequently trained as Holman Fellow in Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the Knight Cancer Institute early in 2016, he has worked as a physician-scientist at Washington University where he focused on the development and application of novel therapies to enhance the current standard therapies used to treat brain tumors.