Promotion and Tenure
Congratulations to Drs. Catherine Morgans and Francis Valiyaveetil on their promotion to full professor, in the Department of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry.
Congratulations to Dr. Michael Cohen on receiving indefinite tenure, in the Department of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry,
Welcome new faculty

Kimberly E. Beatty, Ph.D. - The Beatty group applies novel chemical tools and technologies towards illuminating human diseases. When Dr. Beatty started her group at OHSU in 2012, she decided that her focus would be on using innovative and creative approaches to identify and investigate the molecular basis of human diseases, including tuberculosis (TB) and breast cancer.
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Research in C&EN
Research by Dr. Carsten Schultz and colleagues on proteases decorating neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) was recently reported on in Chemical & Engineering News, titled Fluorescent dyes light up immune cells’ DNA traps. The research was published in the Journal of American Chemical Society.
CPB faculty receive the 2020 Circle of Giving award
Drs. Martin Kelly and Oline Ronnekleiv recently received a Circle of Giving award for their Obesity and Alzheimer’s research. While hormone replacement therapies can be effective in protecting women against Alzheimer’s disease, they are also associated with increased risk of cancer or blot clots. Martin’s and Oline’s labs have developed an estrogenic compound, known as STX, that targets the brain but doesn’t cause side effects in other body systems. With Circle of Giving funding, the researchers will test whether STX protects the function of “Kisspeptin” neurons in the brain, that regulate things including appetite and metabolism. Read more about their research here.
Kelsie Rodriguez receives the IRACDA fellowship at UCSC/CSUMB
Kelsie Rodriguez, PhD student in the Cohen Lab, recently received a postdoctoral fellowship in the IRACDA (Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award) program at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB). The goal of this program is to prepare postdocs with the foundation for a successful career in academia by providing rigorous research training in the field of Stem Cell Biology and by imparting mentoring skills that promote inclusive learning environments. Kelsie is on-track to graduate in January 2021, then off to start her 4-year post-doc fellowship.
Highlighted publications
Congratulations to Kelsie Rodriguez, Ph.D. student in the Cohen Lab, on her first-author paper, “Chemical genetics and proteome-wide site mapping reveal cysteine MARylation by PARP-7 on immune-relevant protein targets” published in eLife.
Congratulations to Scotland (Scotty) Farley, Ph.D. student in the Schultz and Tafesee labs, on her co-first authored paper, "Cross-reactivity of SARS-CoV structural protein antibodies against SARS-CoV-2" published in Cell Reports.
Upcoming Events
Recent News
- Bruce Branchaud, Distinguished Scientist in CEDAR with an appointment in CPB, receives the highest professional distinction for academic inventors, National Academy of Inventors Fellow
- Drs. Kelly and Ronnekleiv receive OHSU Center for Women’s Health Circle of Giving 2020 award
- Katherine Michaelis receives John A. Resko Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award
- Two graduate students awarded positions on T32 institutional training grant
- Beth Habecker named Co-Director of Precision Medicine Innovation Co-Laboratory
Dean's Research Scholar Program
The Dean's Research Scholar Program (DRSP) was developed to recruit top interdisciplinary postdoctoral researchers to OHSU to catalyze novel interdisciplinary research. DRSP is a distinctive opportunity to start a research career pursuing a state-of-the-art project at the cross-section of disciplines.