Fred Stevens, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Professor Dr. Jan Frederik (‘Fred’) Stevens received his M.S. in pharmacy (1988), pharmacy license (1990), and Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry (1995) from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He received postdoctoral training at Oregon State University (1995-1999), the Free University of Amsterdam (1999-2000), and the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Halle/Saale, Germany (2000-2002). In 2002, he joined the faculty at OSU where he currently holds positions as Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Ava Helen Pauling Chair, and Associate Director of Research in the Linus Pauling Institute. He has authored or co-authored more than 188 articles in peer-review journals and has received five awards for excellence in teaching at the OSU College of Pharmacy. More than 90 students, postdocs, and visiting scholars received training and conducted research in Dr. Stevens’ Laboratory. They include exchange students from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Benin, Gabon, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, and Thailand. Trainees from the Stevens Laboratory found positions in academia, industry, at government agencies, or in healthcare professions.
Jaewoo Choi, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Jaewoo is a senior research associate and Facilities & Operations Manager at the OSU Mass Spectrometry Center. His expertise lies in analytical and bioorganic chemistry. His research focuses on the organic synthesis of bioactive compounds and their metabolites, as well as utilizing mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics techniques to assess altered metabolic pathways. Additionally, Jaewoo is expanding his expertise in cannabinoid research, particularly investigating the therapeutic and biological properties of minor cannabinoids and terpenes.
Inah Gu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Inah Gu is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. She received her B.S. in Food Science and Nutrition from Pusan National University, South Korea, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science from University of Arkansas, USA. Her research interests focus on how bioactive components in food and natural products exert human health benefits. Her current research aims to identify bioactive minor cannabinoids from hemp by investigating their effect on chronic pain and low-grade chronic inflammation and integrating Artificial Intelligence prediction.
Elizabeth Milner
Ph.D. Student
Elizabeth is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Hawaiʻi Pacific University where her interest in natural products chemistry began. Her dissertation research will focus on the therapeutic potential of minor cannabinoids for pain. She uses mass spectrometry and artificial intelligence to identify novel therapeutics.
Amber Boyden
Undergraduate Student
Amber Boyden is an undergraduate student majoring in Chemistry. Her research interests include organic synthesis, mass spectrometry, and cell assays, She is currently working on isolating cannabinoids from complex hemp mixtures and evaluating them for their chronic pain management potential.
Marissa Lane
Undergraduate Student
Marissa Lane is an undergraduate Honors student studying Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and BioResource Research at Oregon State University. She is interested in oncology pharmacology and the development of new therapies for cancers. Marissa is currently working on a project tracing the pathway Vitamin C takes in tumor cells.
Val Miranda, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Cristobal Ledda Miranda obtained his D.V.M. degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1959 and was board-certified in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in that year in the Philippines. He received his M.S. degree in Biochemistry and Nutrition in 1971 and his Ph.D. in Human Nutrition and Foods in 1973 at Virginia Tech. In 1991, he became a member of the Graduate Faculty of Toxicology Program, Oregon State University. In 2006, Dr. Miranda joined the laboratories of Drs. Fred Stevens and Claudia Maier as Research Assistant Professor. In 2015, he became a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Linus Pauling Institute. Currently, Dr. Miranda is working part-time in Dr. Stevens laboratory on the bioactivities of different types of phytochemicals and natural products. He is primarily involved in mentoring students in Pharmacy, Nutrition, Toxicology, Biochemistry, Bioresource Research and Honors College in cell culture techniques, biochemical assays, molecular biology techniques, and animal experimentation. He is active in the peer-review process of manuscripts submitted to various scientific journals. He, himself, has authored or co-authored over a hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Ralph Reed, Ph.D.
Ralph has a B.S.Ed. from Peru State College (Nebraska) in chemistry education and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Oklahoma State University. After 28 years in what is now the Environmental and Molecular Toxicology department at Oregon State, he moved to the Stevens lab. Now mostly retired, his interests include medicinal chemistry and especially the molecular drivers of chronic diseases.
Past Members
Paige Jamieson, Ph.D.
Ph.D. Graduate – 2024
Paige holds a PhD in Nutrition with a minor in Biological Data Science. Broadly, she is interested in the mechanism that govern diet-gut microbiota interactions and their impact on immune and metabolic health. Her research leverages techniques in high-throughput sequencing, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics to address these topics. Her dissertation research focused on the mechanistic action and clinical potential of a hop-derived phytochemical in treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Kelly Nguyen
B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology – 2025
Kelly majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Her research focused on analyzing the anti-inflammatory effects of hemp. Kelly is heading to UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to pursue her Pharm.D.
Maria Federica Marchesi, M.S.
Ph.D. Candidate
Maria Federica is a Ph.D. candidate in Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Sciences from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. She completed a research exchange at Oregon State University, where she received advanced training in mass spectrometry (LC-QToF-MS/MS) for the structural characterization of triterpene glycosides (saponins) from Yucca. Her research focuses on identifying bioactive compounds from natural products and evaluating their antimicrobial potential.
Philenroza “Roza” Thavrin
B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology – 2024
Roza majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Her research focused on investigating how supraphysiological intravenous vitamin C reprograms energy metabolism in cancer patients. Roza will be attending the University of Georgia to receive her Pharm.D.
Parker Rianda
B.S. in Biotechnology – 2024
Parker majored in Biotechnology with minors in Chemistry and Toxicology. His research focused on evaluating complex hemp mixtures for therapeutic potential. Parker is now a research associate at Amgen where he works under the discovery proteomics department doing routine sample preparation and utilizing analytical and biophysical techniques to support client’s discovery-stage therapeutic candidates.
