Site 06 Portland Staff Bio
Kathleen F. Carlson, PhD
Site Principal Investigator
Dr. Carlson’s research examines the spectrum of injury prevention and control, from the epidemiology of intentional and unintentional injuries to the rehabilitation of military Veterans with combat injuries. Her current research grants examine firearm-related injuries, opioid and other medication-related injuries, and short- and long-term functional outcomes of Veterans’ traumatic brain injury. Dr. Carlson leads the OHSU-PSU Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue workgroup, an effort initiated in 2016 in response to the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Florida that summer. Her leadership roles with national injury prevention organizations include serving on the Board of Directors for the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research and with the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services section of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Carlson directs the VA health services research post-doctoral fellowship program at the Portland VA and teaches/advises MPH and PhD students in epidemiology at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.
Stephanie Edmunds
Clinical Research Program Manager
Stephanie is a Research Biologist and has been at the Portland VA since 2006. After graduate school, she started her career at the Portland VA and Oregon Health Science University (OHSU) in Behavioral Neurogenetics focusing on mapping the genes of drug and alcohol addiction where she perfected her skills in immunohistochemistry and intracranial surgical techniques in rodent models. In 2014 she was recruited to work with the Portland VA’s Chief of Neurosurgery focusing on subarachnoid hemorrhage and vasospasm research. Stephanie transferred her skill set from wet lab research to clinical research in 2017 when she took the position of Research Coordinator for the Portland LIMIBIC-CENC team. Prior to working at the VA, she was a Herpetologist, specializing in wetland/riparian zone reptiles, working with local government and non-government agencies. In addition to working as a Herpetologist, she managed the Northwest Ecological Research Institute’s turtle rehabilitation center for displaced and injured native and non-native turtles and tortoises.