22 OSU Faculty are Promoted to Senior Faculty Research Assistant I/II
As Oregon's land grant university, Oregon State University is committed to educating, both on and off-campus, the citizens of Oregon, the nation, and the international community, and in expanding and applying knowledge. Candidates for promotion are evaluated objectively for evidence of distinction in their performance of assigned duties and in their scholarship or creative activity. The excellence of our faculty is paramount and we are very proud of the faculty recently promoted to the rank of senior faculty research assistant I or II.
Jennifer Allen Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
Jennifer Allen has been serving as a Faculty Research Assistant in Taal Levi’s wildlife genetics lab since 2015. After graduating from San Diego State University with a B.S. in Biology in 2005, she has worked in diverse fields relating to cell and molecular biology, environmental toxicology and human health. She became interested in using these molecular techniques for species conservation and became an early adopter of the use of Environmental DNA for monitoring species and how they interact with the environment. She has developed numerous assays for detecting imperiled species non-invasively, which has become a hallmark of the Levi lab.
Lincoln Best Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Horticulture
Lincoln Best is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I in the Faculty of Horticulture, College of Agricultural Sciences, at Oregon State University. He serves as the native bee taxonomist for the Master Melittologist and Oregon Bee Atlas programs. In addition, he provides integrative taxonomic services to a diverse mix of clients throughout the region.
Brian Donovan Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Crop and Soil Science
Brian Donovan is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I in the Department of Crop and Soil Science at OSU. He began working for the OSU Cereal Extension program in 2016, and gained agricultural experience while managing wheat and barley research trials throughout the Pacific Northwest. Currently, his position is with the OSU Seed Crop Research and Extension program. In this role, he conducts large-scale grower trials and small plot research trials focused on improving seed yield and quality, developing and testing IPM techniques, and evaluating agricultural products and equipment.
Cristin FitzpatrickSenior Faculty Research Assistant I | Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
Cristín Fitzpatrick’s interest in conservation genetics first began in undergrad with her time spent at Duke University’s Marine Lab in North Carolina. Cristín went on to earn her B.S. in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her M.S. in Marine Biology at Nova Southeastern University studying population and evolutionary genetics of angelsharks (Squatina spp.). She is interested in the use of molecular and genomic approaches as tools for exploring population, conservation, and evolutionary level questions about freshwater, anadromous, and marine fishes. In particular, she is interested in utilizing genetics to help inform effective management and conservation strategies.
Laura Helgerson Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | Crop and Soil Science
Laura Helgerson was born and raised in Eastern Oregon and received a B.S. in Natural Resources from OSU. In 2012 she began working for the Barley Breeding Program in the Department of Crop and Soil Science. Their research focuses on disease resistance, winter-hardiness, and malting quality for winter barley. She supports Barley World in many aspects from field research trials to germplasm preservation and distribution. Her primary responsibility is managing the greenhouses for doubled haploid production to develop new breeding lines for internal use and for public barley breeding programs across the U.S. working on Fusarium Head Blight.
Matthew Hunt Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Crop and Soil Science
Matthew Hunt is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I in the Cereal Extension Program under the direction of Dr. Ryan Graebner at Oregon State University’s Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center near Pendleton, Oregon. Since 2019 he has supported statewide cereal variety testing and other research benefiting Pacific Northwest dryland cropping systems. The Cereal Extension Program produces, harvests, and analyzes over 5,000 plots of wheat and other crops in approximately two dozen locations every year. Matthew earned his B.S. in Forest Ecology from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA in 2010. He went on to earn his M.S. from OSU in Forest Resources in 2013.
David King Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Horticulture
David King is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I to the Marcelo Moretti weed management in perennial horticultural crops program. David installs, implements and manages research trials, including collaborative trials on growers’ farms. He operates, maintains and transports heavy equipment associated with the research program and oversees the productivity and safety of students/workers in their activities on the Lewis Brown Research Farm.
Nathaniel Lewis Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences
Nate Lewis is an estuarine ecologist in the Dumbauld Ecology Lab at HMSC in Newport, OR – his primary focus is geospatial/geostatistical modeling of shellfish and their habitats. He earned his B.S. (Environmental Sciences with a GIS minor) in 2009 at OIT and his M.S. (Marine Resource Management) in 2014 at OSU, where he’s a 4th generation Beaver. Following graduate school, he served as a research fellow at EPA’s Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch. Currently, Nate resides on the Oregon coast with his wife and two frenchies – he enjoys surfing, fishing, traveling, and utilizing the amazing marine resources our oceans have to offer.
Dalyn McCauley Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Horticulture
Dalyn McCauley is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I at Oregon State University. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University, and an M.S. in Water Resource Engineering from the University of Idaho. In the Nackley Lab, Dalyn focuses on the research and development of automated sensor-controlled irrigation systems and decision support tools for crop water management. Her career aspirations are to develop data-driven tools to support growers and conserve resources. When she is not in the greenhouse, you can find her on the slopes, backpacking, playing futsal, or cycling around Portland.
Jason Schindler Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Jason Schindler is an interdisciplinary faculty researcher with over ten years of combined chemistry, bioanalytical, pharmaceutical, pesticide, and environmental toxicology research lab experience. Currently within the Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Department, he supports bioremediation and analytical chemistry for the Superfund Research Center with PIs Lew Semprini and Manuel Garcia-Jaramillo. His other projects have included work on DoD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) projects, pesticides in the environment and wood products, projects with water quality partners, and analysis of emergent chemicals of concern. Jason also enjoys organizing community dance events, tabletop games, and biking and hiking around Oregon.
Richard Scott Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
Richard Scott has a degree in chemistry (environmental option) from Oregon State University. He has worked for Dr. Anderson Food Safety Environmental Stewardship Lab for, about 10 years. Richard has gained a fair amount of knowledge in different environmental chemistry techniques and analytical instrumentation. He enjoys sharing that knowledge with students and really anyone that wants to listen.
Eliza Smith Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Crop and Soil Science
Eliza Smith conducts and supports a variety of research and extension projects as part of the Soil Fertility Research & Extension Program in the Department of Crop and Soil Science. She manages the soil fertility laboratory, administers the program's online PACE course, and conducts research trials in the greenhouse, field, and lab. Eliza holds a B.S. in BioResource Research from Oregon State University and has over a decade of farm work experience in the Willamette Valley.
Benjamin Freiberg Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Ben Freiberg has been a member of the CEOAS faculty since 2020. He works with the Marine Sediment Sampling group (MARSSAM), PacWave, the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), and the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). Ben spends most of his time maintaining oceanographic moorings and facilitating collection of marine sediment cores around the world. He received a master’s degree in geology and geophysics from Oregon State University in 2019 and maintains a US Coast Guard captain’s license.
Cara Fritz Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Cara Fritz is a curator at OSU’s Marine and Geology Repository where her responsibilities include processing and archiving marine sediment cores, managing sample databases, and leading the repository’s outreach and education program. Cara is dedicated to furthering both research and education in the earth sciences and has worked at a variety of positions, from teaching at community colleges to surveying estuarine benthic habitats of the Pacific Northwest. Cara received her BA in Biology from Amherst College and MS in Oceanography from Oregon State University.
Kerry Latham Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Kerry Latham joined the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences in 2016 and works as a Senior Faculty Research Assistant II in Professor Jim Moum's Ocean Mixing Group. He leads the mechanical design and construction of oceanographic instrumentation, participates in the planning and execution of research cruises, and collaborates with scientists, engineers, and students. Previously, Kerry worked as a technician in an aquatic ecology lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He completed his MSc in Marine Microbiology at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, and received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Adam Ryan Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Adam Ryan is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, working at the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering where he develops and maintains full stack software systems for scientists and natural resource managers. He has worked with tsunami researchers at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory, epidemiologists studying the genetics of fish viruses, and a USDA program that uses lichens to monitor air pollution. He currently works with the PRISM Climate Group on tools that provide access to spatial climate data-sets and automated reports. His latest project involves remote data quality control for the Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Network.
Ben Steinberg Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Benjamin Steinberg is a Senior Faculty Research Assistant I in the College of Engineering at OSU. Ben joined the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE) research center in 2005 and has worked since then on large grant funded research efforts with collaborators at OSU as well as external universities and agencies. Among other efforts, Ben's work includes the development of web-based tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing a variety of different kinds of scientific data. Ben has an M.S. in Computer Science and an M.A. in Anthropology from Arizona State University.
Tyler Deboodt Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Wood Science and Engineering
Tyler Deboodt received a M.S. in 2011 and Ph.D. in 2018 in Civil Engineering from OSU with a focus on material science and structural engineering. Dr. Deboodt joined the Department of Wood Science and Engineering in the College of Forestry in 2020. Tyler’s background in engineering design, fabrication, construction, fundamental scientific research, and applied research helps solve the needs of the wood industry. Tyler oversees and assists in many of the WSE research labs and has mentored dozens of undergrad and graduate students, as well as post-docs.
Christine Mouzong Senior Faculty Research Assistant I | Human Development and Family Sciences
Chris Mouzong has been with Extension Service Family and Community Health since 2013 and served as an instructor in Human Development and Family Science from 2011 to 2017. She is currently leading program evaluation efforts for the Food Hero Social Marketing Campaign, focused on increasing fruit and vegetable variety and intake among Oregonians with low incomes through community policy, systems, and environmental change activities. She assists SNAP-Ed programs to implement evidence-informed interventions. Her work includes health promotion theory and interventions; program evaluation design and analysis; design and delivery of garden-based nutrition education; and participatory family/school/community research and evaluation practices.
Tiah Edmunson-Morton Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | OSU Libraries and Press
Tiah Edmunson-Morton is an Archivist and runs the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center. She manages SCARC's outreach, exhibits, and internships, teaches classes, organizes community events, and offers research support, specializing in beer history, oral history, and women’s histories. In 2013, she founded OHBA, the first of its kind in the country. Edmunson-Morton, published in various journals, is under contract for an OSU Press book Oregon’s 19th Century Brewing Families. She has an M.L.I.S from San Jose State University, M.A. in English Literature from Miami University, and became a Certified Archivist in 2007.
Zhen Yu Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | Biochemistry and Biophysics
Dr. Yu earned her Ph.D. in Toxicology at OSU in 2005. She had worked in area of Cancer Chemoprevention, Gene Therapy, Immune-toxicology and Aging at OSU for over 20 years. One of her current research focuses on elucidating molecular processes that govern protein networks involving intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Another research focuses on interaction of SARS-COV-2 nucleocapsid protein and viral RNA in search of the potential binding sequence for further drug screening. She also trains students and maintains critical research equipment in BB that supports scientists.
Maureen Larson Senior Faculty Research Assistant II | Clinical Sciences
Maureen is a cell biologist who earned a BS in Biology and BA in Education from EWU and an MS in Zoology from OSU. She has worked as a Faculty Research Assistant at OSU in Integrative Biology and Pharmacy, and for over a decade has called Vet Med her home. Her current position allows her to work closely with clinical veterinarians to develop and investigate scientific questions focused mainly on small and large animal orthopedics but also including cancer, immunology, and stem cell applications. She enjoys the variety of research she is involved with and the opportunity to mentor undergraduates, professional, and graduate students. Her career includes the best of both of her passions, scientific discovery and teaching.