Family Medicine physician awarded the OHSU Sharp Professorship

April 2024

Brigit Hatch, M.D., M.P.H., a physician dually certified in family medicine and preventive medicine, was named the Charles R. and Velma E. Sharp Professor in the OHSU School of Medicine. Hatch has a primary care practice at OHSU’s Rural Health clinic in Scappoose where she combines individual clinical care with population and system-level innovations to improve the delivery of health care. She is an associate professor in the OHSU School of Medicine and is active in teaching medical students and residents and leads research that aims to improve health care systems.

Hatch studied at Cornell University before enrolling in OHSU’s M.D./M.P.H. program, where she trained under Tom Becker, M.D., the first recipient of the OHSU Sharp Professorship. She completed residency training in OHSU’s combined family medicine and preventive medicine residency program.

The establishment of this professorship was made possible through the estate planning generosity of OHSU School of Medicine graduate Charles Sharp, M.D., class of 1935, and his wife, Velma. In addition to this endowed professorship, the Sharp family endowed a scholarship to support students in family medicine.

An ideal candidate for the professorship is a “public health expert focused on cancer research that includes prevention and outreach and who is well-positioned to generate new knowledge in their field.” Hatch’s research is focused on how large, system-level changes – such as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or the COVID-19 pandemic – impact health and health outcomes for vulnerable populations.  

“It has been an incredible honor to be appointed to the Charles and Velma Sharp Professorship,” says Hatch. “I am incredibly grateful for this generous opportunity and I am eager to start planning how to maximize its impact.”

In addition to her primary care practice, she works at an OHSU family medicine specialty clinic teaching procedural skills for the screening, testing and surveillance of endometrial and cervical cancers and holds research appointments with OCHIN, a national network of community health centers, and ORPRN (Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network), where she is leading work to improve HPV vaccination rates in rural settings.

“Looking forward, I hope to continue studying the impacts of policies and systems changes on receipt of preventive care, work to innovate systems for preventive care delivery, and partner with regional groups to build trusting relationships to support cancer screening and prevention,” she says. “There is a lot of work ahead and I am so appreciative of this generous professorship to support the process.”

Catalogue of Awards

A list of awards and honors Family Medicine faculty and staff have received since the department's inception in 1971.