Interview with Kent Thornburg, Ph.D.

In this oral history interview, Kent Thornburg, Ph.D,, explores his career in cardiovascular and developmental health research at OHSU. He discusses the significant influence of his father and other mentors throughout his education. Thornburg, who joined OHSU in 1971, highlights his contributions to cardiovascular physiology and the establishment of OHSU’s Heart Research Center. His collaboration with epidemiologist Dr. David Barker shifted his research focus onto the influence of prenatal nutrition and stress on lifelong health and led to the creation of the Center for Developmental Health. Later, a collaboration with the founder of Bob’s Red Mill led to the creation of the Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition & Wellness. Looking ahead, Thornburg emphasizes the role of epigenetics and personalized medicine in shaping the future of healthcare

Standardizing antepartum screening for intimate partner violence: a quality improvement project

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue with severe consequences for maternal and neonatal health. Despite professional recommendations for universal screening, IPV screening is not consistently implemented in the prenatal care context. This quality improvement project aimed to standardize antepartum IPV screening and education in a community hospital women’s health clinic in the Pacific Northwest by implementing a confidential, evidence-based screening and education process

Improving opioid safety in primary care: a quality improvement project on naloxone co-prescribing

Harm reduction interventions, such as naloxone access and co-prescribing practices within primary care, can improve opioid safety and reduce harmful patient outcomes. This quality improvement project aimed to enhance naloxone co-prescribing practices through an educational intervention

Maternal-newborn, pediatric, and neonatal nurses’ promotion and support of breastfeeding

A lack of knowledge and support for breastfeeding remains a challenge among nurses, leading to inconsistent information and practices for families. Observations from a non-Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) academic center in the Pacific Northwest indicate that nurses have inadequate knowledge and inconsistent practices in breastfeeding support. This quantitative quality improvement project aims to assess pediatric and neonatal nurses’ beliefs, attitudes, and perceived social norms about breastfeeding, as well as their intentions for behavior change and willingness to make adjustments

Implementing a bedside liaison to enhance cardiac rehab first appointment attendance

Standard guidelines for increasing cardiac rehabilitation enrollment have been established by governing bodies, but these guidelines are not always followed in practice. To enhance enrollment, we propose implementing automatic referrals and having a bedside liaison available during patient admissions. This approach aims to promote the secondary prevention of future heart events. The project focuses on introducing a bedside liaison program, where liaisons visit patients at their bedside before discharge. The goals of this program are to 1) assess enrollment rates in cardiac rehabilitation by aligning clinic practices with recommended guidelines and 2) determine whether the bedside liaison's visit influences patients' decisions to attend their first cardiac rehab appointment

Patient satisfaction with a patient centered inpatient care delivery program in a rural community hospital

A descriptive study examines patient satisfaction with a patient-centered care delivery program in a small rural community hospital. A sample of 15 adult non­intrapartum inpatients were interviewed using a tool developed by the investigator, after at least 24 hours of hospitalization. Five point Likert scale items, as well as open-ended questions, were used to assess patient satisfaction with a variety of program elements addressing the broad focus of this hospital-wide service delivery

Role of the nucleus accumbens core in ethanol reward and binge-like drinking: focus on sex as a biological variable

The goal of this dissertation was to understand if sex-specific responses to NAcC chemogenetic manipulations indicate differences in reward, or NAcC input and brain region engagement during binge-like ethanol drinking. This work focuses on models of early-stage ethanol use to identify potential differences that may underly the telescoping effect. This dissertation presents novel sex differences in how the brain responds to ethanol intoxication

Improving access to cervical cancer screening among Somali Refugees

This DNP project aimed to promote awareness and knowledge of CCS and its prevention through a culturally tailored educational workshop for Somali women in the Portland metropolitan area. Using the CBPR framework, the project emphasizes collaboration with community leaders and organizations to ensure cultural relevance, build trust, and address systemic barriers

PEAR1 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia

This thesis investigates Acute Myeloid Leukemia, focusing on the PEAR1 gene and receptor, analyzed using the IL-3 withdrawal assay and other techniques. All bench work shown in the writing was done in the Jeff Tyner lab.</b

Evaluating quantitative microbiome profiling (QMP) approaches with a mock microbial dilution series

We developed a workflow for quantitative microbiome profiling to quantify bacterial abundance using a known mock microbial dilution series