Watch Postdoc Slam 2024
Postdoc Slam has come and gone, but you can still catch all the action on the video recording. Congratulations to the prize winners and finalists for a fantastic job!!
UCSF Postdoc Slam 2024
Wednesday, September 18
4 p.m. PDT
#UCSFPostdocSlam
About Postdoc Slam
At Postdoc Slam, the annual research communications contest presented by the Office for Postdoctoral Scholars and the Graduate Division, ten postdoc finalists present their research in three minutes or less, in language accessible to a general audience. It's a celebration not only of the finalists and contest winner, but also of postdoctoral research at UCSF and of scientific inquiry.
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.
Postdoc Slam is the centerpiece of UCSF's celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 16 to 20.
Cash prizes of $4,000, $2,000, and $1,000 were awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners chosen by the judges. And the live and remote audiences voted for the "People's Choice" winner, who will receive $750. Finalists not awarded a cash prize each receive a $100 Amazon gift card.
Congratulations to the prize winners and all of the finalists for an impressive showing:
Prize Winners
First Prize
Alexandra Klein, PhD
Mazen Kheirbek, PhD, faculty mentor
Take a Deep Breath: Understanding the Neural Basis of How Respiration Influences Emotions
Second Prize & People's Choice Award
Sonia Nocera, PhD
Jonah Chan, PhD, faculty mentor
The Power of a Sugar Mama
Third Prize (tie)
Alicer K. Andrew, PhD
Nadia Roan, PhD, faculty mentor
Hide & Seek: The Game HIV and T Cells Play
Third Prize (tie)
Colin Hoy, PhD
Simon Little, PhD, faculty mentor
Stimulating Positivity: Can a Brain Implant Lift Your Mood?
Finalists
Roddrick Dugger, PhD
Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD and Sheri Lippman, PhD, MPH, faculty mentors
Like PB&J, A Complementary Approach to Reduce Food Insecurity
Jeremy Ford, PhD
Jeanne Paz, PhD, faculty mentor
Innovating Tools to Drive Breakthroughs in Stroke Pain Research
Rebecca L. Knoll, MD
Susan Lynch, PhD, faculty mentor
Outcompeting ChatGPT with Poop
Ana Lyons, PhD
Saul Kato, PhD and Noelle L'Etoile, PhD, faculty mentors
From Microscopic to Iconic: Tardigrades, Neuroscience’s New Celebrities
Taylor B. Rogers, PhD, MPH
Joanne Spetz, PhD, faculty mentor
Lift Doula Voices for Birth Equity
Camilla Teng, PhD
Jeffrey Bush, PhD, faculty mentor
Zip It: Forming the Upper Lip
Live Event Judges
The panel of five judges selected the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners.
- Teaster Baird, Jr., PhD, associate dean, SF State University College of Science and Engineering, and professor of chemistry and biochemistry; UCSF postdoc alum
- Lisa Cisneros, UCSF’s executive director of Internal Communications, UCSF Office of Communications
- Josh Kornbluth, monologuist and filmmaker, and past Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at UCSF
- Wylie Liu, MPH, MPA, assistant vice chancellor of UCSF's Center for Community Engagement and Anchor Institution Mission
- Robin Marks, MA, senior public information representative, UCSF Office of Communications
- Ben Polacco, PhD ʼ07, lead bioinformatician, UCSF's Qualitative Biosciences Institute; UCSF PhD and postdoc alum