Training and Education

SA training students

Oregon National Primate Research Center/OHSU West Campus scientists play a key role in training future scientists through participation in a variety of both formal and informal science programs here at the Center and in the community.  

ONPRC/West Campus scientists mentor students enrolled in graduate professional programs at OHSU, as well as postdoctoral fellows from around the world who seek additional training in specific techniques. Mentorships are also available for students who are participating in non-degree-oriented training programs.

Please note: OHSU’s COVID-19 Immunization and Education policy will go in effect as of Oct. 18, 2021. Visitors and volunteers who have an in-person experience at OHSU must be fully vaccinated (14 days after last dose). Exception requests from visitors and volunteers will not be accepted. Please be prepared to provide proof of vaccination, or to receive a Covid-19 vaccination, as a requirement for onboarding for your in-person experience at OHSU. You will not be allowed to participate within OHSU if you are not compliant with this policy.

Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE)

Apprenticeship opportunities for high school students are administered through Saturday Academy's "Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering" program. This includes funding for students to participate in 8-week long summer internships with a Center scientist mentor.  To qualify for a position at ONPRC, students must be 16 years of age (usually between their junior and senior years of high school).   For more information about this program, visit Saturday Academy.

Biomedical Research Immersion Experience (BRIE)

BRIE is a collaboration between the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce and the Oregon National Primate Research Center/OHSU. Through this program, 16 high school students may visit the Primate Center for 3 hours on each of 5 consecutive Fridays in either the Spring or Fall of each year. Students meet with various West Campus scientists and experience hands-on activities that support learning about the research that is occurring in a particular area. The 5-visit series culminates in a 3-hour job shadow.  To learn more or to apply for this experience, contact Christine Rickis at the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce’s “School to Career” Office, christiner@hillchamber.org.

Saturday Academy courses

Each year ONPRC/OHSU West Campus supports one or more courses through the popular Saturday Academy catalog. Every Winter Term, Dr. Mary Zelinski, a Research Associate Professor at ONPRC and award-winning educator, leads a 4-session course for high school students that explores reproductive physiology. The course includes information about Dr. Zelinski’s work seeking to provide options to patients who face possible infertility due to cancer treatments. Students will experience hands-on lab activities as they seek to provide fertility options for their selected “patient.”

Other ONPRC/West Campus offerings may appear in the catalog, depending on the availability of instructors. To learn more about these and other courses, visit Saturday Academy or contact Kayla McDaniel, Education & Outreach Coordinator mcdankay@ohsu.edu or 503-346-5055.

Summer fellowship program

A limited number of fellowship awards ($3000 each) are available each summer to support undergraduate students who will enter their junior or senior year of college following their summer apprenticeship.  Fellows complete a project during their 10-week apprenticeship and present the results of their research at the culminating Summer Science Symposium.  Updated project descriptions and application information is uploaded each September.  Applications are due in late January each year.

USF Application due January 26, 2024
Position descriptions for Summer 2024

For more information, please contact Kayla McDaniel at mcdankay@ohsu.edu 

Provost scholar program

This 10-week Provost Scholar Program funds two students each summer.  Selected participants will receive a $3,000 stipend; travel reimbursement and housing costs may also be provided. Fellows complete a project during their 10-week apprenticeship and present the results of their research at the culminating Summer Science Symposium. Eligible applicants will have completed at least 2 years in an accredited 4-year institution in the state of Oregon by the start date of the program. Applicants must come from a group that is recognized as historically underrepresented in the health and science professions (including African-American/Black, Native American/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino).  Applications are due in late January each year.

Provost Scholar Application due January 26, 2024
Position Descriptions of ONPRC Provost Scholar Program 2024

For more information, please contact Kayla McDaniel at mcdankay@ohsu.edu 

The number of graduate students who are pursuing their dissertation research in the laboratories of Center scientists has grown dramatically.  Because of this increase, the Center has increased its commitment to graduate student support, by paying for the first year stipend of three graduate students in each of the interdisciplinary graduate programs at OHSU.

  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Molecular and Medical Genetics
  • Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
  • Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Program in Molecular and Cell Biology

Professional Development opportunities for high school science teachers are offered several times each year through workshops presented at professional conferences (including OSTA, WSTA, NSTA and NABT). In addition, ONPRC/West Campus scientists welcome full-time science teachers into summer apprenticeships and workshops held at OHSU’s West Campus.

Partners in science

This program, administered by The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, provides a generous stipend to encourage and enable full-time high school science teachers to participate in research.  Selected teachers conduct research projects under the direction of ONPRC/West Campus scientists for 8 weeks during each of two consecutive summers. Scientist mentors at OHSU’s West Campus are identified by March of each year. The grant application deadline is December 1st.

For a list of mentors and projects at the Oregon National Primate Research Center/OHSU West Campus, contact Kayla McDaniel, mcdankay@ohsu.edu or 503-346-5055. For application materials and more information about this program, visit the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust website.

FREE summer workshop: “The ART of Reproduction”

This 4-day workshop focuses on reproductive health technologies and provides training in the “ART of Reproduction” curriculum developed by an ONPRC scientist and aligned with the NGSS. The workshop is led by Dr. Mary Zelinski, a Research Associate Professor at ONPRC and award-winning educator, who is working to provide options to patients who face possible infertility due to cancer treatments.

Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) on the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) West Campus offers students of accredited veterinary medicine programs a variety of elective experiences that can be tailored to suit the interests of the individual student. In this year-round program, students can spend two weeks with the Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM) at the ONPRC. Students will spend time with all the Units that support DCM, including the Clinical Medicine Unit, Surgical Services Unit, Behavioral Services Unit, and Pathology Services Unit. Students may, by special arrangement, request extended externships with a specific research mentor or a specific ONPRC DCM unit.

All students are requested to submit a curriculum vitae/resume with a letter of interest that includes a statement of career goals and your expectations from the externship. This information allows us to schedule the most appropriate externship for each student.   

IMPORTANT:   

  • A current Cooperative Education Agreement Contract must exist between OHSU and your home institution. Students may also establish a liability agreement contract utilizing Veterinary Student Professional Liability Insurance using the AVMA PLIT program.
  • Students must pass a criminal background check conducted by OHSU public safety prior to receiving access to OHSU facilities.
  • Students must meet all the occupational health requirements of ONPRC including documentation of measles vaccination or immunity and documentation of a negative tuberculosis test within 6 months of the externship. 

Opportunities for electives include: 

A. ONPRC on the OHSU West Campus

Initial externships in the Division of Comparative Medicine at ONPRC are two weeks long and involve rotations through all Units in order to give externs a comprehensive overview of the breadth of expertise and coordinated efforts involved in optimizing animal health and well-being, as well as developing animal models and ensuring appropriate research outcomes. Students who return for a second externship have the option of focusing on one or more particular areas listed below. Alternatively, if a student elects an externship for more than 2 weeks, they may choose to focus on particular areas starting in their third week. Please be advised that while we welcome externships longer than 2 weeks, scheduling longer and more focused visits depends heavily on unit and mentor availability. 

Clinical medicine

Under the direction and oversight of DCM veterinarians, externs will have rotations in the Colony Hospital working with nonhuman primates (NHPs) in the breeding colonies, and with clinical veterinarians working with NHPs assigned to various research projects. In the Colony Hospital, externs can gain experience with critical care and chronic case management, as well as increase insight into how to coordinate that management with the behavioral dynamics of the group, and future research assignment needs. For research-assigned NHPs, externs can evaluate animals assigned to research projects, learn about the research project objectives and dynamics, as well as learn how the veterinary and scientific personnel interface to provide excellent animal care and well-being in pursuit of scientific objectives. Overall, NHP clinical experience can include: physical exams, developing treatment plans, venipuncture, catheter placement, IV fluid therapy, wound triage and management, suturing and bandaging, and performing radiographs and ultrasonography. The conceptual objectives include understanding: 1) the important role of NHPs as models of human disease and physiology; 2) the various roles and responsibilities of the Laboratory Animal Medicine veterinarian involved in supporting and facilitating biomedical research; and 3) the scope of Laboratory Animal Medicine as a specialty of veterinary medicine, and the paths and requirements for board certification by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. 

Pathology

Extern rotations in the Pathology Services Unit offer exposure to post-mortem examinations of NHPs in support of research protocols and colony surveillance. An extensive archive of microscopic material, including teaching slide sets, will permit the examination of normal histology and disease entities. Additionally, there are 6 to 8 hours of prepared didactic/lecture material covering the Diseases of Laboratory Primates and the Gross Morbid Anatomy of Nonhuman Primates. During the academic year, preceptors can participate in the weekly review of the Joint Pathology Center (formerly called Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) Wednesday Slide Conference material and ONPRC Pathology Services Unit case reviews. Double headed microscopes are available for one-on-one review of microscopic material, and a digital photomicrography camera permits review of slides on a monitor in real time. The DCM in-house clinical pathology laboratory is also a resource and a component of the Pathology rotation. 

Surgery

Rotations in the Surgical Services Unit offer exposure to a high volume of both clinical and research-related surgeries. PowerPoint presentations of our most frequently performed procedures along with written narratives and, when possible, hands-on training with anesthetized animals prior to necropsy (non-survival surgery) is available. Procedures for externs can include: endotracheal intubation, placement of intravenous catheters, laparotomy and exploratory surgery, endoscopy, CSF aspiration, and bone marrow biopsy. Externs may also scrub in and assist in survival procedures such as cesarean sections, embryo transfers, and endoscopy as time and caseload permit. 

Behavior

Extern rotations in the Behavioral Services Unit provide opportunities for students to learn about the behavior and social hierarchy of macaques. Working with the Behavioral Services Unit technicians, students will learn how to attend to the behavioral needs of captive macaques and various aspects of behavioral management. A main focus of the Behavioral Services Unit is placing animals in social housing. Externs will learn how macaques are pair-housed, how group dynamics are monitored, and how these processes are coordinated with clinical and research needs. Externs will also learn about positive reinforcement training, providing appropriate novel enrichment, and methods to alleviate behavioral problems when they arise. 

B. ONPRC scientific divisions

Medical treatment options for humans and animals begin at the level of basic science, where scientists work to further our understanding of the physiologic mechanisms that underlie wellness and disease. In the research elective, the preceptor can choose to work with a scientist pursuing one of the following fields of research: anesthesiology, neuroscience, reproductive science, virology, etc. Note: Minimum rotation of 8 weeks is required for a rotation within a research division.

Division of Neuroscience:

  • In vitro and in vivo strategies for understanding behavioral and physiological functions of the nervous system
  • Sophisticated molecular, cellular, and genetic techniques (including gene therapy of the nervous system, next generation sequencing of the primate genome, neural and cognitive behavioral assessments)
  • Imaging procedures including MRI, CT and imaging-guided interventions
  • Research programs aimed at unraveling the molecular mechanisms of human neurological diseases, health aging, maternal/fetal health, neurogenesis, addiction, metabolic disorders, and primate genetics
  • Weekly research meetings

Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences:

  • Behavioral observation and behavior testing
  • Surgical procedures including embryo transfer, fetal and oviductal catheterization, ovariectomy, lutectomy, and hysterotomy
  • Reproductive ultrasonography
  • Hormone and growth factor assays
  • Cellular and molecular techniques, including in vitro fertilization, gamete, embryo and stem cell manipulation and culture, gene microarray analyses, quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization, western blotting, immunocytochemistry 
  • Weekly research meetings

Division of Pathobiology and Immunology

  • Participation in ongoing studies of the pathogenesis and immunity of SIV, herpes family viruses, and other agents
  • Use of state-of-the-art virologic and immunologic technologies
  • Application of genomic and proteomic techniques to virologic and immunologic investigation
  • Vaccine development
  • Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Division of Cardiometabolic Health:

  • Focus on metabolic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases
  • Expertise in the central nervous system that controls appetite and energy expenditure, pancreas function, and adipose tissue function
  • Broad array of research tools including noninvasive imaging, complex whole animal studies on physiology and behavior, and in vitro and ex vivo techniques

Division of Genetics:

  • Use of high-dimensional data to map the genetic and epigenetic basis of disease in NHPs
  • Combine NHP and human data to directly advance our understanding of genotype-phenotype mapping in humans
  • Summarize and distribute the unique data resources generated during this work to the broader scientific community

C. OHSU – Marquam Hill Campus

Department of Comparative Medicine – Marquam Hill Campus

The DCM-C provides care for the animal resources on the OHSU Central & Waterfront Campuses. To support animal research activities, the DCM-C presently provides nearly 100,000 square feet of animal space, four veterinarians and 40 employees. Species housed include rodents, rabbits, ferrets, frogs, fish, pigs and sheep.  

Veterinary medical students will participate in a range of hands-on experiences, including experimental surgeries, post-surgical care, physical exams, treatments, preventive medicine, biological sampling, as well as handling, husbandry, and euthanasia of multiple laboratory animal species. Students will also participate in animal welfare regulatory compliance as well as the rodent health surveillance program. 

At the completion of the rotation, veterinary students will be familiar with the husbandry, medicine and surgery of common laboratory animal species. The experience gained will also benefit veterinary students who wish to pursue careers in private practice working with pocket pets, companion animals and large animals.  

Contact us

If you need additional information or if you are interested in enrolling in the veterinary externship program, please contact us! 

Oregon National Primate Research Center externships

Jeff Stanton, MA, DVM, DACLAM

Head –Education & Training Unit
Clinical Veterinarian and Associate Professor
Program Director – Oregon State Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Consortium
Oregon National Primate Research Center
Division of Comparative Medicine –Mail Code L584505

NW 185th Avenue
Beaverton, OR 97006 
503-346-5283 (office)
503-346-5000 (main)

stantoje@ohsu.edu 

OHSU – Marquam Hill Campus externships

Tom Chatkupt, DVM

Head, Clinical Medicine, Surgery, & Training
Department of Comparative Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University

3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road
Mail Code L110
Portland, Oregon 97239
503-494-1515 (office) 
503-494-8425 (main)
503-494-4338 (fax) 

chatkupt@ohsu.edu

The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) is proud to participate in the Oregon State Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Consortium (OSLAMRC) which includes the following primary institutions:

  • Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine – Corvallis, OR
  • Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Marquam Hill Campus – Portland, OR
  • Oregon National Primate Research Center, OHSU West Campus – Beaverton, OR

Up to three veterinary resident positions in laboratory animal medicine are available each year or alternating years, one at each of the three primary institutions above. Please see below for application instructions.  

The OSLAMRC program is recognized by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) to prepare veterinarians for careers in the veterinary specialty of laboratory animal medicine (LAM) and meets all requirements to support preparation for ACLAM board certification. The program is three years and includes a combination of didactic training and supervised clinical experience in conjunction with mentored research and submission of a first-authorship manuscript to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Clinical and pathology training includes lectures and seminars covering a range of pertinent topics in laboratory animal models, species biology, clinical and pathologic aspects of diseases, facility management and design, human resources management, and regulatory affairs and oversight.

The OSLAMRC is a multi-institutional residency program. Residents are expected to spend the majority of their time at their respective home institution, but will also complete rotations at the other primary institutions listed above. Additionally, optional rotations are available at the following participating institutions:

  • Legacy Research Institute –Portland, OR
  • Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center –Portland, OR
  • Hatfield Marine Science Center –Newport, OR

Participation by multiple institutions provides LAM residents unique opportunities for exposure to a wide breadth of animal species, research projects, and faculty expertise and perspective, with emphasis on comparative and preventive medicine. Concurrent graduate degree programs are available.

Candidates must be highly motivated, have strong academic records, and possess excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills. Qualified applicants must 1) have a DVM/VMD degree or equivalent from an AVMA-accredited college of veterinary medicine (or have completed all ECFVG requirements), 2) have passed the national veterinary licensure examination (NAVLE) by the initiation of the program, and 3) be currently licensed to practice in at least one state in the U.S.

Each of the member institutions hires their own residents. Please contact the appropriate person listed below to request information about applying to a specific institution. Depending on funding availability and institutional needs, applications may be through the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (VIRMP) website, where complete application requirements.  Applications for the resident positions may also be posted independently of the VIRMP, so please contact the appropriate person below with any application questions.

Please direct inquiries according to institution(s) of primary interest, but multiple institutional inquiries are welcome.

For the Oregon National Primate Research Center of OHSU, contact:
Jeff Stanton, MA, DVM, DACLAM
OSLAMRC Program Director
Head – Education & Training Unit
Associate Professor and Clinical Veterinarian, Division of Comparative Medicine

stantoje@ohsu.edu
Oregon Health & Science University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

For Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, contact: 
Jennifer Sargent, MS, DVM, DACLAM
OSU Site Director - OSLAMRC
LARC Director/Campus Attending Veterinarian, OSU College of Veterinary Medicine

jennifer.sargent@oregonstate.edu  
Oregon State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

For Oregon Health & Science University Marquam Hill Campus, contact:
Kim Saunders, DVM, DACLAM
OHSU Site Director – OSLAMRC
Director and Professor, Department of Comparative Medicine

saunderk@ohsu.edu
Oregon Health & Science University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.