Dr. Worth is a surgeon-scientist at OHSU in the Department of Surgery, Division of GI and General Surgery.  His primary interest is in improving outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer.  His lab developed a model of rapid metastatic recurrence after surgical resection of pancreatic cancer and is utilizing this to develop robust insights into the various mechanisms of pancreatic cancer metastasis and surgically-mediated effects.  

He grew up in  eastern Connecticut and studied anthropology with a focus on medical anthropology at New York University.  He attended medical school at Brown, working in the lab of Jorge Albina and Daithi Heffernan where he first became interested in surgical-science.  He trained in surgery at OHSU where he began working with his mentors Rosie Sears and Brett Sheppard.  He trained in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery under Brenden Visser, Monica Dua, George Poultsides, and Jeff Norton at Stanford.

He was recruited back to OHSU as a surgeon-scientist in 2019, and has been successful in developing an independently-funded lab.  He holds funding from the DoD with a FY21 Idea Development Award (multiPI: Sears) and is an inaugural recipient of the NCI's Early-stage Surgeon Scientist Award.  He also leads a clinical trial investigating the role of fluorescence imaging in the operating room to predict pancreatic leaks.  He lives in Portland with his husband and two daughters.  

Jackie is originally from the midwest and obtained a B.S in biochemistry from Purdue University in 2018. After undergrad, Jackie worked for 3 years at a regenerative medicine biotechnology start-up called Surrozen, which is developing targeted therapeutics that activate Wnt signaling in various disease settings.

In the Worth Lab, Jackie is interested in how surgical resection of primary PDAC tumors leads to rapid liver metastasis in some patients within a few months after surgery. Specifically, Jackie focuses on identifying surgically mediated effects on the liver that contribute to accelerated metastasis.

Outside of lab, Jackie enjoys exploring different neighborhoods around Portland, trying new restaurants and breweries, and spending time with friends.

Jennifer grew up in Miami, FL and moved to Tallahassee, FL in 2015 to attend Florida State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry with an ACS certification. Afterwards, she worked as an R&D Chemist for Milliken & Co. developing formulations for silicone-based elastomers, and as an Associate Scientist characterizing active pharmaceutical ingredients for respiratory drug development using analytical and organic chemistry techniques.

She joined OHSU in 2021 to further develop her scientific education with the Worth lab having a strong interest in understanding the immunobiology of the tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.

When Jennifer isn’t in lab, she can be found running or hiking on a trail in Washington park, attending concerts, playing her piano or reading at her local coffee shop.

Gustavo is originally from Monterrey, Mexico. He received his MD from the EMIS School of Medicine at Tec de Monterrey in 2022.  During his time as a medical student he developed an interest in surgical outcome research and later on worked at Tec's Surgical Research Group.

In 2023 Gustavo joined the Worth Lab at Oregon Health & Science University as a Research Assistant.  His work focuses on the use of intraoperative near-infrared imaging on predicting pancreatic leaks.  

Outside of the hospital, Gustavo enjoys coffee, running, and mindfulness meditation.