Ten UC San Francisco Postdoctoral Scholars received UCSF Postdoc Travel Award grants this year from GEPA to attend conferences and field-specific workshops. The $2,500 award, which is designed to support the transition to research independence, supports attending conferences, workshops, or gaining professional development.
“Because of our UCSF Travel Grants, postdoctoral scholars have been able to broaden their professional networks, present their research findings to global experts in their field, and gain invaluable exposure that strengthens both their careers and the scientific community,” said Chequeta Allen, assistant dean of postdoctoral affairs.
The year’s winners are attending events around the world, including conferences in Hawaii, China, and Spain.
“This opportunity allowed me to engage with senior epidemiologists and clinicians, whose constructive critiques reinforced my research approach and encouraged me to advance future studies,” said Abubakr Al-Shoaibi of the Department of Pediatrics.
“I had the opportunity to connect with attendees from varied backgrounds, including clinicians, engineers, and industry leaders,” said Laura Gambini of the Division of Cardiology.
If postdocs would like to apply for a 2026 travel grant award, visit the Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs website for more information.
Congratulations to the following winners!
Grant Recipient | Dept. | Conference | Location |
Abubakr Al-Shoaibi | Pediatrics | Obesity Week 2025 | Atlanta, GA |
Francisco Aparicio | Neurology | Neuroscience 2025 | San Diego, CA |
Fabio Begnini | Pharmaceutical Chemistry | Pacifichem 2025 | Honolulu, Hawaii |
Lucas Cabrera-Zapata | Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology | Fens Forum – Advancing Neuroscience | Barcelona, Spain |
Laura Gambini | Medicine Cardiology Division | Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging | Irvine, CA |
Jon Gauthier | Neurological Surgery | Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing | Suzhou, China |
Prabhat Kumar | Neurological Surgery | Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting | San Diego, CA |
Christine Liu | Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences | Molecular Psychiatry Annual Meeting | Lihue, Hawaii |
Archana Venkataraman | Cellular and Mollecular Pharmacology | Cold Spring Harbor Brain Body Physiology Conference | New York |
Dillys Xiaodi Liu | Psychiatry | Alzheimer’s Imaging Conference | London |