February 18, 2013

Lisa Grill Dodson ’81

2012
Distinguished Alumna Award
Lisa Grill Dodson is the director of the Oregon Area Health Education Center and associate professor of medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. A tireless advocate for healthcare education and for developing care for rural and other underserved populations, she has received a number of awards, including the 2010 OHSU Alumni Association Dean’s Award and the 2009 Oregon Family Physician of the Year Award. In 2009, Lisa launched the Oregon Rural Scholars program, which gives medical students a rotation in rural areas to experience firsthand the rewards and challenges of rural practice.

Lisa Grill Dodson is director of the Oregon Area Health Education Center and associate professor of family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. She received her MD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1988. Dodson completed her residency in family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and then practiced for seven years in John Day, Oregon. Since returning to OHSU in 1999, she has been the clerkship director for the Rural and Community Health Clerkship, developed the Oregon Rural Scholars program, and taught courses.

In addition to her work teaching and mentoring students, Dodson provides leadership to Area Health Education Centers staff statewide and provides clinical care and practice relief for rural physicians. She has received several awards for her work, including the Oregon Family Physician of the Year Award in 2009. Dodson serves on the OHSU School of Medicine Admissions Committee, the Oregon Health Services Commission, and on the boards of the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians, the Oregon Rural Health Association, and the Workforce and Benefits committees of the Oregon Health Fund Board. She is a past board member of the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners.

Her interests outside of medicine include spending time with her husband, Peter, and sons, David and Jason, as well as gardening, cooking, reading, and watching soccer.