Our Team

We are the Community Outreach, Research and Engagement (CORE) team.  We support community–academic partnerships, gather community input for academic research, and increase research in community settings that is responsive to the pressing health concerns of residents in Oregon. 

Our Team is made up of OHSU staff from  the OCTRI Community Research Hub, and the Knight Cancer Institute Community Outreach and Engagement programs,  the Knight Cancer Network, community stakeholders and volunteers.

Staff and Programs

Community Research Liaisons live and work in five, mostly rural, regions in Oregon.  They  work alongside community leaders and health and wellness stakeholders in their region and have an established network.  Guided by the principles of community engaged research, they support research best practices, provide training and education and have a  key role in developing projects and community-academic collaborations in their regions. 

Reach out to the Community Research Liaison Team  Manager

The Knight Cancer Community Outreach & Engagement Team works to reduce cancer burden in Oregon communities through development of programs and partnerships to enhance cancer prevention, cancer screening and access to cancer care.

Community Health Educators work to connect communities with Knight Cancer Institute cancer screening and education efforts, programs and resources.  

The Knight Cancer Institute supports the development of sustainable collaborations with Oregon communities to address community-identified cancer needs. The Community Partnership Program is designed to grow and change with the evolving needs of Oregon communities.

The OHSU Knight Cancer Network represents a collaboration of select community hospitals and oncology programs in the Pacific Northwest working with OHSU Knight Cancer Institute to end cancer as we know it. The Network delivers cancer prevention, clinical care, and clinical research services targeted to the specific needs and risks of each member community.

The Knight Scholars Program is a new program designed to provide ninth and tenth graders with up to a three-year introduction to careers in cancer.  The program encourages youth whose communities are underrepresented in cancer research, healthcare and public health – including those of diverse races and ethnicities and those from rural areas – to consider making a career out of the fields of cancer research, treatment and prevention. 

Community Stakeholders and Volunteers

Community Health & Research Advisory Council - Council members are people who hold some level of authority at the agencies in which they are employed. Members represent tribal, rural and underrepresented minority populations. They have expressed interest in advising the Knight Cancer Institute and OHSU researchers about priorities in their regions or with populations they represent.

For more information about The COUNCIL please email Steven Blakesley  blakesls@ohsu.edu , or Paige Farris  farrisp@ohsu.edu

Cancer Research Advocates are a trained group of cancer survivors and caregivers who work with Knight Cancer Institute investigators to ensure that research at OHSU reflects the needs and interests of the cancer community.

The OHSU Community Outreach, Research and Engagement's (CORE) Interns include undergraduate and graduate students that are involved in a wide ranges of community engaged research projects and partnerships.  Projects use research best practices, data-driven decision-making, evidence-based approaches, program evaluation, and community assessments to advance public health issues confronting local communities. CORE Interns may also support OHSU investigator-led community-engaged research studies. Learn more.

Reach out to the CORE Internship Manager

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Jackie Smaller
Jackie Shannon PhD, MPH, Director of CORE
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Community Partnership Program
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Knight Scholars Program students
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