People on the move

Dr. Alissa P. Craft, DO, has joined Samaritan Health Services (SHS) as the director of medical education. She has a specialty in neonatal-perinatal medicine and will be instrumental in preparing the Corvallis-based internal medicine, family medicine and psychiatry residency programs to welcome students in July 2009. As part of Samaritan's senior medical education team, she will work with various members of SHS administration, health care professionals throughout the Pacific Northwest, and officials at Western University of Health Sciences in California.

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Dr. Anthony Paventy recently joined the orthodontic practice of Dr. Michael Sheets. Dr. Paventy graduated with distinguished honors from dental school and then completed his orthodontic residency at The University of Oklahoma.

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Stacey Harper, a nationally recognized leader in the interactions of nanomaterials with biological systems, has been named as the sixth "signature research faculty fellow" of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, or ONAMI.

As an assistant professor of nanotoxicology at Oregon State University, Harper will pursue research on the environmental and safety impacts of nanotechnology, in order to ensure the responsible development of this rapidly evolving industry.

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Ramesh Sagili, a honeybee researcher from Texas A&M University, has been hired as an assistant research professor at Oregon State University as part of an initiative to help ensure that there are enough healthy honeybees to pollinate Oregon's crops.

Sagili's position was created at the request of Oregon agricultural groups worried about the health and supply of honeybees, which are crucial pollinators for many of the state's crops, including blueberries, pears, cherries, apples and vegetable seeds.

Sagili, who earned a doctorate in entomology from Texas A&M, will have two main duties: helping the honeybee industry through the OSU Extension Service and conducting research.

Take a bow

Emma and Joel Kirk, co-owners of Kirk Design and Construction, have both earned the designation of Certified Green Professional (CGP) through the National Association of Home Builders. Holding this designation requires completing classes in green design and construction practices and construction business management, completing continuing education classes, and adhering to a code of ethics.

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Clare Reimers, a professor of chemical oceanography at Oregon State University, and Jeffrey McDonnell, an OSU forest hydrologist, have been elected fellows of the American Geophysical Union.

The international scientific organization focuses on the understanding of the Earth and space, and promotes research, education and outreach in fields including geology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, hydrology, seismology and others.

Acceptance as AGU fellows is restricted to less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the association's members.

News and notes

The downtown La Rockita Mexican Restaurant at 370 S.W. Western Blvd. recently began offering breakfast. The new hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

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Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center has launched a new program n Palliative Care Services. Palliative care is comprehensive patient care which includes management of physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. Palliative care is designed to ensure comfort, dignity and control in patients' lives as they face complex or life-threatening illness.

Submissions

"Movers & Shakers" welcomes submissions of business news about local companies. News releases can be delivered to the front desk of the Gazette-Times, 600 S.W. Jefferson Ave.; faxed to 758-9505; e-mailed to news@gtconnect.com; or mailed to Business News, Corvallis Gazette-Times, P.O. Box 368, Corvallis, OR 97339.

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