Leadership
SENIOR LEADERSHIP AT ONPRC
Nancy L. Haigwood, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Haigwood brings significant scientific and leadership experience to the ONPRC. As the fifth Director of the Center and an Adjunct Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at OHSU, she plays a vital role in HIV vaccine and antibody research. She led the preclinical development of a groundbreaking HIV vaccine while serving as Research Director for the Chiron Corporation in Emeryville, California, and was the founding Director of the Viral Vaccines Program for the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. An innovator by nature, Dr. Haigwood became the first Scientific Ombudsperson at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2004. She is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the International AIDS Vaccine Institute and has served as a regular member on NIH Advisory Panels and Study sections.
Kerry Taylor, M.Sc., D.V.M., Dipl., ACLAM, Associate Director for Comparative Medicine
Dr. Taylor provides overall supervision of the animal care and use program at the ONPRC, to include the management of non-human primate colonies, subsequent support for research programs, and provision of research support services. He also provides oversight and direction for the laboratory animal medicine training program. Dr. Taylor's background includes experience as an Attending Veterinarian and on-site clinical veterinarian for BSL-2 and 3 protocols, and corporate oversight for both the Alamogordo Primate Facility and a NIAID free ranging rhesus breeding colony. Dr. Taylor has also provided managerial oversight for staff and resource utilization at multiple NIH institutes, and continues to be actively engaged as a Subject Matter Expert for the enhancement of new and existing technologies for animal model development, bio-containment methodologies, and systems in support of medical countermeasures.
Lisa Kendig, Interim Associate Director for Administration
Charles T. Roberts, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research
An expert in the molecular endocrinology of growth factor action, Dr. Roberts has focused on insulin and insulin-like growth factor research for the last 25 years. Dr. Roberts was recruited as Associate Director for Research at the ONPRC in May 2007, and has developed new research programs in non-human primate adipose and islet biology. His previous positions include Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at OHSU, Senior Investigator at the Diabetes Branch in NIDDK’s intramural research program, and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Roberts also holds joint appointments at OHSU as Professor of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology.
RESEARCH DIVISION CHIEFS
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 serves on the National Advisory COuncil for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and oversees the consortium on the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Stress and Alcoholism funded by NIH. 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.
Scott Wong, Ph.D., Interim Chief, Division of Pathology & Immunology
Richard L. Stouffer, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Reproductive Sciences
Dr. Stouffer’s research has led to remarkable advances in primate ovarian biology relevant to fertility and contraceptive treatments. He received the American Society for Reproductive Medincine's Distinguished Researcher Award in 2010 and the Society for the Study of Reproduction's Research Award in 2007. After eight years in the Department of Physiology at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine, Dr. Stouffer moved to the ONPRC in 1985 and became the Division Head in 1996. He holds joint positions in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Physiology & Pharmacology. To continue accelerating research in this field, Dr. Stouffer promotes research interactions between basic and clinical scientists at OHSU and other universities through various leadership roles.
Kevin Grove, Ph.D., Chief, Division of Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism
Dr. Grove has established a premier research group focused on the development of metabolic systems, as well as the pathophysiology, that leads to significant metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. His work has demonstrated that developmental abnormalities in these systems caused by poor maternal health and diet lead to a permanent risk for the development of metabolic and psychiatric diseases. Furthermore, he has been involved in the development of several nonhuman primate (NHP) models that are used by more than 20 research groups around the United States, as well as internationally. To date, Dr. Grove has also used these NHP models to validate the safety and efficacy of two novel therapeutics for the treatment of various aspects of metabolic diseases that are currently in clinical testing. Dr. Grove came to ONPRC in 1996 as a Staff Scientist and is the founding Division Chief of the Division of Diabetes, Obesity, & Metabolism. He has received numerous OHSU Technology Innovation Awards and has been responsible for securing over $36.4 million (total costs) of federal and industry grants in the past five years. He serves on several advisory and editorial boards and is currently serving as the Basic Science Chair for the 2014 Endocrine Society meeting.
OHSU RESEARCH ADVOCACY OFFICE
P. Michael Conn, Ph.D., Director, Office of Research Advocacy
Considered an international expert in Research Advocacy, Dr. Conn was recruited by the ONPRC in 1994 and served as Associate Provost, Special Assistant to the President at OHSU and Associate Director of ONPRC. He previously headed the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Iowa College and has published over 330 articles and 180 books in endocrinology, molecular and cell biology, pharmacology, and the value of ethical animal research. The outstanding work of his laboratory has been recognized with RCDA and MERIT awards from the NIH, the J.J. Abel Award of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the Weitzman, Oppenheimer, and Ingbar Awards of the Endocrine Society, the National Science Medal of Mexico (the Miguel Aleman Prize), the Stevenson Award of Canada, and the Oregon State Award for Discovery. In 2012, Conn received the Distinguished Alumnus award from Baylor College of Medicine. Conn and ethicist James V. Parker co-authored a provocative and award-winning book entitled "The Animal Research War" and articles supporting the research in the LA Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, other popular and professional publications.
