Georgiana Purdy, Ph.D. - Program Director

“We are unpacking the traditional graduate program to cross disciplines and layer in the mentoring, community-building, career preparation and communications skills to make sure our students are ready to go out into the world and follow different trajectories. We really want discovery to define the path.”

– Georgiana Purdy, Ph.D., Program Director and Associate Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, OHSU School of Medicine

Dr. Purdy earned bachelor’s degrees in Microbiology and Cell Science and History from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Purdy joined the OHSU School of Medicine Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in 2008 and established her independent research program focused on M. tuberculosis. Dr. Purdy has significantly contributed to the education and mentoring of graduate students at OHSU. She has been course director of the CONJ660 Research Rotation Talks course and the MBIM615 Host-Pathogen Interactions course. She has served as a Graduate Program Director since 2016. 

Ujwal Shinde, Ph.D. - Associate Director, Admissions

Dr. Shinde received his doctorate in Chemistry from Pune University, Pune, India in 1991, and did his postdoctoral training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, under the guidance of Dr. Masayori Inouye. Dr. Shinde joined the faculty at Oregon Health and Science University in 2001, and is currently an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the OHSU School of Medicine. He has mentored several graduate and post-doctoral researchers, has received awards for excellence in teaching, and recognized by the School of Medicine for his extensive research collaborations within OHSU and worldwide.  His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of protein folding, protease activation and regulation, and the interplay between protein structure, function and evolution, using multidisciplinary approaches.

Alex Nechiporuk, Ph.D. - Assistant Director, Curriculum 

Dr. Nechiporuk received his doctorate in Human Genetics from University of Utah in 2002. He did his postdoctoral training in developmental biology at University of Washington. Dr. Nechiporuk joined the faculty at OHSU in 2008. Dr. Nechiporuk is currently an associate professor of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology in the OHSU School of Medicine, and a member of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. The Nechiporuk laboratory studies development of the peripheral nervous system using zebrafish as a model. They focus on roles of collective cell migration and axonal transport during embryonic development.

Aaron Matney MS.Ed. - Academic Coordinator

Aaron Matney has worked in higher education for more than a decade across a variety of roles. He received his Masters in Educational Leadership and Policy from Portland State University in 2020. Aaron joined OHSU in 2019. He provides academic and programmatic support to PBMS students and faculty throughout the lifecycle of the students from admissions to graduation.