Postdoc Slam, the annual research communications contest presented by the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA), returns this year on Wednesday, September 17. Postdoc Slam is the featured event of UCSF's celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 15 to 19.
Postdoc Slam challenges postdocs in a range of disciplines to present a compelling presentation of their research in three minutes or less, using language that not only their peers but also non-specialists will understand. The intention of Postdoc Slam is not to dumb-down or trivialize research; rather, it is meant to incentivize postdocs to clarify their ideas and to help others appreciate and understand their work.
We're excited to announce this year's ten finalists, selected by a panel of screening judges, who will compete for cash prizes of $4,000, $2,000, $1,000, and $750 at the live event on September 17. The entire campus community is welcome to join us for Postdoc Slam, either in person in Genentech Hall at Mission Bay, or via the live stream. In-person and remote viewers alike will be able to cast their vote for the "People's Choice" prize winner. Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, September 17, at 4 p.m. PDT!
Congratulations to these ten postdoctoral scholars who will give 3-minute talks on a wide range of research topics at the lively Postdoc Slam event:
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
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, PhD
Jonathan Ostrem, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Medicine
Rewriting the Rules of Cellular Quality Control
Lea Lortal, PhD
Hiten Madhani, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Cracking the Genetic Code of a Deadly Fungus
Jack Moen, PhD
Nevan Krogan, PhD, faculty mentor
Quantitative Biosciences Institute
From Beast to Bedside: Animal Biology That Heals
Sangeeta Niranjan, PhD
Daniel Minor, Jr., PhD, faculty mentor
Cardiovascular Research Institute
From Hide-and-Seek to Spotlight: Nanobodies Expose Calcium Channel Secrets
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
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
Ritwik Vatsyayan, PhD
Prasad Shirvalkar, MD, PhD, faculty mentor
Department of Neurological Surgery
Chronic Pain: Is it All in the Brain?
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
Read more about the Postdoc Slam competition.