Dr. Merridee Lefner is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Behavioral Neuroscience Department at Oregon Health and Science University. Merridee received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2021, where she studied the role of dopamine neurons and other neural regions in acquiring and updating reward value. Since joining Dr. Bita Moghaddam’s lab at OHSU in 2022, Merridee has been investigating the involvement of top-down projections from the medial prefrontal cortex to the ventral tegmental area in the ability to update previously learned associations. Outside of the lab, Merridee enjoys reading and hiking.

Dr. James Jones is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Science University. James received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2023, where he studied synaptic inhibition in the external globus pallidus. As a recent addition to Dr. Tianyi Mao’s lab at OHSU, James aims to investigate neuronal mechanisms in several regions, including the striatum and thalamus. Outside of the lab, James enjoys listening to records and running.

Dr. Cathy Spangler grew up in Maryland and received Bachelor of Science degrees in chemistry and biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2016, along with minors in physics and music. She went on to conduct graduate research in biochemistry and biophysics through the institution's Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD Program, where she investigated the molecular structure of epigenetic modifying proteins and their misregulation in cancer. After earning her Ph.D., Dr. Spangler began a position as a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon Health & Science University in 2022 and is now exploring the architecture and organization of neurotransmitter receptors at synapses in both normal brain tissue and glioblastoma cancers. Outside of science, Cathy enjoys getting outside, most often by either playing soccer, skiing, or hiking with her two dogs, as well as playing violin and guitar. 

Dr. Charles (Charlie) Meshul received his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Illinois Medical Center, where he specialized in ultrastructural/electron microscopic analysis of the nervous system/synapses. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center, he came to the Portland VA Medical Center as a Research Biologist in 1984. He also holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience and Pathology at the Oregon Health & Science University. His interest in Parkinson’s disease developed in the mid-1990s, and using a variety of rodent animal models, his lab correlates morphological (light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry), protein, and motor behavioral changes associated with various drug and non-drug treatments in these models. More importantly, his primary study design is investigating recovery/restoration of these treatments following the loss of dopamine and not protection models, which are not translational to the clinic at this time. His work had been continuously funded as a principle investigator by the Department of Veterans Affairs from 1986-2023.

Dr. Eric M. Wiser is a family physician. His clinical interests are maternity care and women's health, rural health care education and general primary care. As the child of two public school teachers, Dr. Wiser values education and believes patients should know as much about their health as their provider does. He tries to eliminate any barriers that patients may encounter while navigating the complex medical environment.

Dr. Wiser cherishes the personal relationships that form between patients and family physicians. He always brings a family approach to primary care, and enjoys the comprehensiveness of family medicine - everything from birth to end-of-life.

Dr. Wiser was born and raised in between small towns in Pennsylvania, where he completed most of his education. After leaving Pennsylvania to complete a fellowship in obstetrics in Spokane in 2007, he moved to Oregon. He and his wife, who is also a family medicine physician, started a family practice together in the small town of Sublimity before coming to OHSU.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. He trains for triathlons and has completed multiple Ironman events. He also enjoys being outside hiking, biking and fly fishing.

Dr. Natonson moved to Portland from Chicago via Boston, where he did the majority of his training at Tufts Medical Center. In addition to his clinical duties, he is actively engaged in the education of medical students and residents in the field of neurology. He has spent many years studying HIV and is interested in how viruses impact cognitive changes, as well as how best to keep our minds healthy as we get older. He is contemplating ways to improve access to neurological care for patients in rural areas using telemedicine, and on those occasions that he is outside of the office he is otherwise trying to find ways to become acclimated to this wonderful city with his growing family.

Dr. Woodburn's interest in education and advocacy led her to become a medical provider. "In my work, I strive to stay knowledgeable and up to date on research and advancements in care in order to be the best possible resource for my patients," she says. She also believes her most important role as a provider is "to build an environment of mutual trust and respect so patients feel their needs are being met - their concerns or questions are heard and addressed and an effective health care plan to address their needs can be developed." As a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Dr. Woodburn focuses on holistic patient care and provides a valued perspective to the team at Providence Multiple Sclerosis Center. "I work not only to help identify and treat a disease state, but also to incorporate the social, spiritual, cultural, environmental, and lifestyle aspects of my patients. My goal is inclusion and openness in communication." When she's not at work, Dr. Woodburn enjoys visiting friends, traveling, and staying active, especially outdoors. She hikes/runs trails, cycles, and does yoga, which she has also taught in past.

Dr. Matthew Wood, associate professor, is the medical director of neuropathology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He did his medical and PhD research training at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire, and then continued to pathology residency and neuropathology fellowship training at the University of California San Francisco. Since 2018 he has worked as a diagnostic neuropathologist at OHSU. Along with helping to diagnose patients with neurological disorders by examining tissue samples under the microscope and guiding their treatment, Dr. Wood conducts research studies in the genetics of brain cancer. He enjoys biking, snowboarding, and spending time outdoors with his family.