We are looking for individuals who are excited about what we do. 

Please email a description of your interest in our work and your CV to Dr. Ted Braun.

Theodore Braun, MD Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

​Dr. Braun did his undergraduate work at Claremont Mckenna College. He then completed his MD/PhD at OHSU studying the neuroendocrine basis for Cancer Cachexia. His work established the critical role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as a major mediator of muscle loss in response to tumor growth. He then completed his residency training in internal medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, WA. He then returned to OHSU to complete his fellowship in Hematology & Medical Oncology. His fellowship work defined the mechanism of oncogene synergy between mutations in CSF3R and CEBPA in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. This work demonstrated that CEBPA mutations alter the epigenetic landscape changing the manifestation of CSF3R mutations acquired later during disease development.
Dr. Braun sees patients with blood cancers at the OHSU Center for Hematologic Malignancies.
 
When not in the lab, Dr. Braun enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, and a multitude of outdoor activities in the beautiful pacific northwest including hiking, backpacking, kayaking and bicycling. 

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Brittany Smith, B.S.

Senior Research Assistant

Brittany graduated from George Fox University with a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. As part of the Richter Scholars program, she studied under Dr. Jim Smart and Dr. Anthony Barnes in the Knight Cardiovascular Institute at OHSU. During that time, she investigated the role of Rab7A in murine neurodevelopment. After graduating, she became a research assistant for Dr. Braun. Brittany's research interest include epigenetic changes due to combination therapy for leukemia. Additionally, she enjoys learning how to utilize computational tools to analyze the sequencing data she generates in lab.

Brittany and her husband, Zach, like playing board games, being outside, and spending time with family. 

Jommel Macaraeg, B.S.

Research Assistant

Jommel was born and raised in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. He earned his B.S. in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Portland. During his undergraduate studies, Jommel studied cell cycle kinases under Dr. David Wynne and completed a senior thesis investigating the relationship between haspin and polo-like kinase in C. elegans. After graduating, Jommel joined the Braun Lab as a research assistant where he currently studies targeted combination therapies for acute myeloid leukemia.

In his free time, Jommel enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing Clue, and going on spontaneous food adventures.

Will Yashar, B.S.

MD/Ph.D. Student

Will completed his undergraduate degree in physics from MIT, including a year at the University of Cambridge. He started his research career investigating interstitial brachytherapy devices at UCSD Moores Cancer Center and continued doing research in undergrad spanning a variety of disciplines including dark matter, bioinformatics, and medical devices. Upon graduating, Will worked as a consulting analyst at Precision for Medicine developing forecasting models for life sciences companies. He went on to help found Abreos Biosciences, which is utilizing peptide antigen mimetics to inform personalized dosing of biologic therapeutics. Will began his MD/PhD at OHSU where he is developing computational methods to identify early epigenetic changes in leukemogenesis.

​Outside of work, Will enjoys staying active with running, rowing, hiking, camping and taking care of his buff tabby, Amelie.

Alumni

Cody Coblentz, BS

Research Assistant

​Cody is a native Oregonian from Willamina. He earned his B.S. in biology at George Fox University, where he conducted undergraduate research with Dr. John Schmitt through the Richter Scholar's program. He characterized a recently-discovered relationship between P53 & Cam Kinase I in breast cancer.  His current research interests include mutation cooperativity and targeted combination therapies for acute myeloid leukemia.

When not caring for his mice, Cody and his wife Stephany enjoy hiking, game nights, and mixing new cocktail recipes. Cody also mixes as a DJ on the side and is slightly obsessed with birds.