Contact the BREP Office
Contact Information
Phone: (505) 272-1887
Fax: (505) 272-2412
Email: BREP@salud.unm.edu
Mailing Address
BREP Program
MSC08 4560
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Physical Location
UNM Health Sciences Center
(North Campus)
Health Sciences and Services
Building (HSSB)
Second Floor, Room 223
Walk-In Hours for the BREP Office
Monday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Friday 9:00AM - 12:00PM
Can't find us? Click here for a map!
The BREP Team
The BREP team support students and learners within many School of Medicine research education programs in terms of recruitment, admissions, advising and progress tracking. We also provide interface with offices and departments throughout the UNM community and are dedicated to the success of every student.
Program Directors
Deborah Helitzer, ScD
Associate Dean for Research Education, MSCR Program Director
Office: Family and Community Medicine 333b
Phone: (505) 272-1601
BREP@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Helitzer's role is to support the large umbrella under which all of the
research education programs will reside. These programs include the BSGP,
the MD/PhD Program, the MSCR Program and many others. Her focus is to
facilitate the important goals of each of these training programs, to
support all the program directors and enable the respective Steering
Committees or Curriculum Committees to carry out their work.
Helen Hathaway, PhD
BSGP Program Director
Office: BMSB 149
Phone: (505) 272-1469
hhathaway@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Hathaway is an Associate Professor in Cell Biology and the Director of
the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BSGP). She studies reproductive
biology and cancer biology and has been at UNM for ten years. Dr. Hathaway
chairs the BSGP Steering Committee and oversees graduate admissions,
curriculum and student issues.
Brian Hjelle, MD
MD/PhD Program Director
Office: CRF 329
Phone: (505) 272-0624
bhjelle@salud.unm.edu
Brian Hjelle, MD is a graduate of UC Berkeley in Biochemistry and received
his MD from Johns Hopkins University. He completed residency training in
Laboratory Medicine and a postdoctoral fellowship at University of
California-San Francisco before joining the UNM faculty. He has made many
fundamental discoveries in the study of highly-pathogenic zoonotic viruses,
especially the rodent-borne hantaviruses, a career interest that was spurred
by the emergence of often-fatal hantavirus disease in New Mexico and nearby
states in 1993. He has over 200 publications in fundamental and medical
virology as well as several licensed patents.
BREP Staff
Ignacio Ortiz
Senior
Program Manager
Office: HSSB 228
Phone: (505) 272-1921
ijortiz@salud.unm.edu
Ignacio oversees the day-to-day operations for Research Education at the
School of Medicine. This includes many exciting programs which requires a
balanced approach to complex issues. Ignacio has been at UNM for 5 years
and has a bachelors degree in Psychology from ENMU and a Master of Education
in Student Affairs from Northern Arizona University.
Mary Fenton
Program Coordinator
Office: HSSB 227
Phone: (505) 272-6876
mfenton@salud.unm.edu
Mary is the admissions guru of the group. After years of teaching blind or
neurologically- impaired skiers, she is now utilizing those motivational
skills to nurture BSGP applicants from the recruitment stage to the first
day of classes. Mary has been with UNM for two years, and has studied the
effects of parasitic infection on the immune system.
Lissa Muscari
Administrative Assistant III
Office: HSSB 221
Phone: (505) 272-1117
lmuscari@salud.unm.edu
Lissa takes care of BREP's day-to-day administrative work, along with managing
Dr. Helitzer's busy schedule. Lissa graduated from UNM with a bachelors
degree in communication, and came to us from LandAmerica Albuquerque Title. In
her spare time she enjoys spending time with friends, her husband and dogs.
She's very excited to be a part of the team and looks forward to working with
everyone!
Natalie Robinson Bruner
Education Specialist
Office: HSSB 225
Phone: (505) 272-0150
nbruner@salud.unm.edu
Natalie plans and coordinates the development, implementation, execution and evaluation of the
Undergraduate Pipeline Network summer research experience. Natalie's background is a great fit for this
position. She has degrees in Chemistry, Microbiology and Public Administration
and currently working on her doctorate in educational leadership.
Colton McCabe
Student Assistant
Office: HSSB 223
Phone: (505) 272-1887
CoMcCabe@salud.unm.edu
Colton and has been with the BREP program for two years
now and will be graduating in May with a degree in
biology. Known to the rest of the world simply as, “The
Light” he is the only thing which stands between the force
s of evil and the preservation of mankind. After
graduation Colton plans on attending Pharmacy school.
Colton handles a variety of duties at the BREP office to
help the day to day operations run smoothly. As an avid
bowman, Colton only eats what he can hunt and kill with
his trusty bow and arrow.
Eric Brady
Student Assistant
Office: HSSB 223
Phone: (505) 272-1887
EBrady@salud.unm.edu
Eric began working with the BREP in September of 2011 and is
currently a undergraduate at The University of New Mexico.
Eric helps to maintain order throughout the workplace as he
manages various tasks given to him by other staff members.
This includes but is not limited to: organizing files,
making deliveries, helping with program events and even
making coffee to keep staff members at the top of their game. Eric plans to graduate with a double major in both Biology and Psychology in the spring of 2014.