Postdoc Slam 2025 is a Wrap!

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UCSF Postdoc Slam 2025 prize winners laugh while posing for a photo after the competition, while Dean Nicquet Blake looks on
Atreya Dey, PhD (center), first prize winner in Postdoc Slam 2025, celebrates with 2nd prize winner Jarin Tusnim, PhD (right) and Rabab Rangwala, PhD (left), who captured 3rd prize and the People's Choice audience award. Dean Nicquet Blake looks on at far right. Photo by Noah Berger.

At the conclusion of the 8th UCSF Postdoc Slam competition on Wednesday, September 17, three postdocs nabbed prizes for their 3-minute talks, but all ten of the finalists engaged the audience with presentations on a wide range of research topics, all geared towards a general audience. A live — and lively — crowd cheered them on in Byers Auditorium at Mission Bay, and the YouTube live stream garnered over 400 views. 

Organized by the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs, the event was a fitting way to celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week, when we highlight the contributions of the over 1,000 postdocs who work at UCSF.

Read all about Postdoc Slam in the campus news story: How 100,000 Grandmas Fight Cancer in Every Human Cell

Watch the event recording on YouTube.

UCSF Postdoc Slam 2025 finalists line up to receive audience applause at conclusion of talks.
Assistant Dean Chequeta Allen called all ten Postdoc Slam finalists up to the front of the auditorium for a round of applause at the conclusion of the talks. Photo by Noah Berger.

Prize Winners

Atreya Dey

First Prize

Atreya Dey, PhD
Andrej Sali, PhD, and 
Ignacia Echeverria Riesco, PhD, faculty mentors
Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences

A Theory of 100,000 Grandmas

Jarin Tusnim

Second Prize

Jarin Tusnim, PhD
Xianhua Piao, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology

Breaking the Silence: How Astrocytic GPR56 Can Protect the Alzheimer’s Brain

Rabab Rangwala

Third Prize & People's Choice Award

Rabab Rangwala, PhD, CCC-SLP
Srikantan Nagarajan, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

Where There’s a Swallow, There’s a Synchrony

Finalists

Logan Leak

Logan Leak, PhD
Trever Bivona, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology

When Worlds Collide: Oncogenic Fusion Proteins in Lung Cancer

Weicheng Li

Weicheng Li, PhD
Jonathan Ostrem, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Medicine

Rewriting the Rules of Cellular Quality Control

Lea Lortal

Lea Lortal, PhD
Hiten Madhani, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics

Cracking the Genetic Code of a Deadly Fungus 

Jack Moen

Jack Moen, PhD
Nevan Krogan, PhD, faculty mentor
Quantitative Biosciences Institute

From Beast to Bedside: Animal Biology That Heals

Sangeeta Niranjan

Sangeeta Niranjan, PhD
Daniel Minor, Jr., PhD, faculty mentor
Cardiovascular Research Institute

From Hide-and-Seek to Spotlight: Nanobodies Expose Calcium Channel Secrets

Ritwik Vatzyayan

Ritwik Vatsyayan, PhD
Prasad Shirvalkar, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Neurological Surgery

Chronic Pain: Is it All in the Brain?

Da Zhang

Da Zhang, PhD, MSc
Jon Kleen, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences

AI-Powered Epilepsy Detection: Bridging Gaps in Care