Deborah Levy, MD, MPH, OHSU Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology Master’s Graduate Program, is a post-doctoral advanced informatics fellow for the Department of Veterans Affairs, at VA-Connecticut, West Haven, and a Lecturer at Yale School of Medicine affiliated with Yale Center for Medical Informatics. Dr. Levy is a general internal medicine hospitalist, a health services researcher, and a board-eligible clinical informatician focused on best practices for electronic health record implementation. Her research is now focused on EHR transitions and how we can improve clinician documentation burden and patient safety.

Dr. Levy completed her health informatics certificate program at DMICE in June 2022, and recalls the warm reception by faculty and fellow students at the graduation events. She “appreciated the engaging educational safe space amongst like-minded clinical informaticians, while learning under supportive and renowned professors” at DMICE so much that she is continuing her studies in a HCIN Master’s program.

Matthew Hammer, OHSU School of Medicine Bioinformatics and Computational Biomedicine Master’s Program, started his degree in 2021 after graduating from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Interest in the capability of computational approaches for analysis of the multifactorial nature of disease is what initially drew Matthew to the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. An avid outdoor enthusiast as well as dedicated researcher, Matthew chose the Bioinformatics and Computational Biomedicine Master’s Program at OHSU due to its history of academic excellence and Portland’s proximity to outdoor activities. Matthew’s thesis work, under the advisement of Lisa Karstens (PhD), will be focused on evaluating popular tools for functional analysis of microbial environments, specifically in the context of the human pediatric gut microbiome. In the future, he hopes to continue exploring the causative role of microbiota in human disease.

Joseph Wishart, OHSU School of Medicine Medical Physics Graduate Program, is the Chair of the Association of Medical Physics Students (AMPS) interest group and winner of the 2022 Northwest American Association of Physicists in Medicine Young Investigator Symposium. Passionate about physiological imaging systems and improving diagnostic protocols, Joseph came to OHSU in 2021 to obtain his master’s degree and participate in clinically oriented physics research.

His efforts are directed towards the integration of physics principles into a clinical environment, driving collaboration and improved patient care. Specifically, Joseph’s research explores novel techniques in positron emission tomography (PET) and hybrid imaging modalities to improve specificity in the diagnosis of brain tumors. Joseph hopes to establish a role as a clinical professional, continuing to conduct functional imaging research and participate heavily in educational outreach. Outside of the world of physics, Joseph is an avid runner, rock climber, fly fisherman, and fervent home cook.