diff --git a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Graph.scala b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Graph.scala
index 1fb22c56ff..b5c4fcc99b 100644
--- a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Graph.scala
+++ b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Graph.scala
@@ -227,12 +227,12 @@ abstract class Graph[VD: ClassManifest, ED: ClassManifest] {
    * }}}
    *
    */
-  def aggregateNeighbors[VD2: ClassManifest](
-      mapFunc: (Vid, EdgeTriplet[VD, ED]) => Option[VD2],
-      mergeFunc: (VD2, VD2) => VD2,
+  def aggregateNeighbors[A: ClassManifest](
+      mapFunc: (Vid, EdgeTriplet[VD, ED]) => Option[A],
+      mergeFunc: (A, A) => A,
       direction: EdgeDirection)
-    : RDD[(Vid, VD2)]
-
+    : Graph[(VD, Option[A]), ED]
+  // TODO: consider a version that doesn't preserve the original VD
 
   /**
    * This function is used to compute a statistic for the neighborhood of each
diff --git a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphLab.scala b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphLab.scala
index 1dba813e91..01f24a1302 100644
--- a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphLab.scala
+++ b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphLab.scala
@@ -44,13 +44,13 @@ object GraphLab {
 
 
     // Add an active attribute to all vertices to track convergence.
-    var activeGraph = graph.mapVertices {
+    var activeGraph: Graph[(Boolean, VD), ED] = graph.mapVertices {
       case Vertex(id, data) => (true, data)
     }.cache()
 
     // The gather function wrapper strips the active attribute and
     // only invokes the gather function on active vertices
-    def gather(vid: Vid, e: EdgeTriplet[(Boolean, VD), ED]) = {
+    def gather(vid: Vid, e: EdgeTriplet[(Boolean, VD), ED]): Option[A] = {
       if (e.vertex(vid).data._1) {
         val edge = new EdgeTriplet[VD,ED]
         edge.src = Vertex(e.src.id, e.src.data._2)
@@ -64,14 +64,15 @@ object GraphLab {
 
     // The apply function wrapper strips the vertex of the active attribute
     // and only invokes the apply function on active vertices
-    def apply(v: Vertex[(Boolean, VD)], accum: Option[A]) = {
-      if (v.data._1) (true, applyFunc(Vertex(v.id, v.data._2), accum))
-      else (false, v.data._2)
+    def apply(v: Vertex[((Boolean, VD), Option[A])]): (Boolean, VD) = {
+      val ((active, vData), accum) = v.data
+      if (active) (true, applyFunc(Vertex(v.id, vData), accum))
+      else (false, vData)
     }
 
     // The scatter function wrapper strips the vertex of the active attribute
     // and only invokes the scatter function on active vertices
-    def scatter(rawVid: Vid, e: EdgeTriplet[(Boolean, VD), ED]) = {
+    def scatter(rawVid: Vid, e: EdgeTriplet[(Boolean, VD), ED]): Option[Boolean] = {
       val vid = e.otherVertex(rawVid).id
       if (e.vertex(vid).data._1) {
         val edge = new EdgeTriplet[VD,ED]
@@ -88,24 +89,31 @@ object GraphLab {
     }
 
     // Used to set the active status of vertices for the next round
-    def applyActive(v: Vertex[(Boolean, VD)], accum: Option[Boolean]) =
-      (accum.getOrElse(false), v.data._2)
+    def applyActive(v: Vertex[((Boolean, VD), Option[Boolean])]): (Boolean, VD) = {
+      val ((prevActive, vData), newActive) = v.data
+      (newActive.getOrElse(false), vData)
+    }
 
     // Main Loop ---------------------------------------------------------------------
     var i = 0
     var numActive = activeGraph.numVertices
     while (i < numIter && numActive > 0) {
 
-      val accUpdates: RDD[(Vid, A)] =
+      val gathered: Graph[((Boolean, VD), Option[A]), ED] =
         activeGraph.aggregateNeighbors(gather, mergeFunc, gatherDirection)
 
-      activeGraph = activeGraph.leftJoinVertices(accUpdates, apply).cache()
+      val applied: Graph[(Boolean, VD), ED] = gathered.mapVertices(apply).cache()
+
+      activeGraph = applied.cache()
 
       // Scatter is basically a gather in the opposite direction so we reverse the edge direction
-      val activeVertices: RDD[(Vid, Boolean)] =
+      // activeGraph: Graph[(Boolean, VD), ED]
+      val scattered: Graph[((Boolean, VD), Option[Boolean]), ED] =
         activeGraph.aggregateNeighbors(scatter, _ || _, scatterDirection.reverse)
+      val newActiveGraph: Graph[(Boolean, VD), ED] =
+        scattered.mapVertices(applyActive)
 
-      activeGraph = activeGraph.leftJoinVertices(activeVertices, applyActive).cache()
+      activeGraph = newActiveGraph.cache()
 
       numActive = activeGraph.vertices.map(v => if (v.data._1) 1 else 0).reduce(_ + _)
       println("Number active vertices: " + numActive)
diff --git a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphOps.scala b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphOps.scala
index 8de96680b8..9e8cc0a6d5 100644
--- a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphOps.scala
+++ b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/GraphOps.scala
@@ -9,22 +9,29 @@ class GraphOps[VD: ClassManifest, ED: ClassManifest](g: Graph[VD, ED]) {
 
   lazy val numVertices: Long = g.vertices.count()
 
-  lazy val inDegrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = {
-    g.aggregateNeighbors((vid, edge) => Some(1), _+_, EdgeDirection.In)
-  }
+  lazy val inDegrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = degreesRDD(EdgeDirection.In)
 
-  lazy val outDegrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = {
-    g.aggregateNeighbors((vid, edge) => Some(1), _+_, EdgeDirection.Out)
-  }
+  lazy val outDegrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = degreesRDD(EdgeDirection.Out)
 
-  lazy val degrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = {
-    g.aggregateNeighbors((vid, edge) => Some(1), _+_, EdgeDirection.Both)
-  }
+  lazy val degrees: RDD[(Vid, Int)] = degreesRDD(EdgeDirection.Both)
 
   def collectNeighborIds(edgeDirection: EdgeDirection) : RDD[(Vid, Array[Vid])] = {
-    g.aggregateNeighbors(
+    val graph: Graph[(VD, Option[Array[Vid]]), ED] = g.aggregateNeighbors(
       (vid, edge) => Some(Array(edge.otherVertex(vid).id)),
       (a, b) => a ++ b,
       edgeDirection)
+    graph.vertices.map(v => {
+      val (_, neighborIds) = v.data
+      (v.id, neighborIds.getOrElse(Array()))
+    })
+  }
+
+  private def degreesRDD(edgeDirection: EdgeDirection): RDD[(Vid, Int)] = {
+    val degreeGraph: Graph[(VD, Option[Int]), ED] =
+      g.aggregateNeighbors((vid, edge) => Some(1), _+_, edgeDirection)
+    degreeGraph.vertices.map(v => {
+      val (_, degree) = v.data
+      (v.id, degree.getOrElse(0))
+    })
   }
 }
diff --git a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Pregel.scala b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Pregel.scala
index 27b75a7988..09bcc67c8c 100644
--- a/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Pregel.scala
+++ b/graph/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/graph/Pregel.scala
@@ -19,18 +19,25 @@ object Pregel {
 
     def mapF(vid: Vid, edge: EdgeTriplet[VD,ED]) = sendMsg(edge.otherVertex(vid).id, edge)
 
-    def runProg(v: Vertex[VD], msg: Option[A]): VD = {
-      if (msg.isEmpty) v.data else vprog(v, msg.get)
+    def runProg(vertexWithMsgs: Vertex[(VD, Option[A])]): VD = {
+      val (vData, msg) = vertexWithMsgs.data
+      val v = Vertex(vertexWithMsgs.id, vData)
+      msg match {
+        case Some(m) => vprog(v, m)
+        case None => v.data
+      }
     }
 
-    var msgs: RDD[(Vid, A)] = g.vertices.map{ v => (v.id, initialMsg) }
+    var graphWithMsgs: Graph[(VD, Option[A]), ED] =
+      g.mapVertices(v => (v.data, Some(initialMsg)))
 
     while (i < numIter) {
-      g = g.leftJoinVertices(msgs, runProg).cache()
-      msgs = g.aggregateNeighbors(mapF, mergeMsg, EdgeDirection.In)
+      val newGraph: Graph[VD, ED] = graphWithMsgs.mapVertices(runProg).cache()
+      graphWithMsgs = newGraph.aggregateNeighbors(mapF, mergeMsg, EdgeDirection.In)
       i += 1
     }
-    g
+    graphWithMsgs.mapVertices(vertexWithMsgs => vertexWithMsgs.data match {
+      case (vData, _) => vData
+    })
   }
-
 }