Postdoc Research Day 2018 is coming up on Monday, 3 December.
We will be concluding the day’s formal events with a Panel Discussion on Postdoc Careers. We have invited 5 panelists who have all successfully transitioned from being postdocs into a diverse array of careers.
The discussion will be a chance for you to hear about how they made this transition, how their postdoc experience has influenced their subsequent jobs, and tips for postdocs planning careers going forward.
Our five panelists will be:
Dr. Andrew Hegle, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Cannevert Therapeutics, and Adjunct Professor in Pharmacology at UBC.
Andrew received his doctorate in molecular biology at the University of Michigan and came to Vancouver as a UBC postdoc in 2007. There, he became closely involved with the postdoc community, and organized the efforts to formalize the UBC Postdoctoral Association, expand benefits, and establish the Postdoctoral Fellows Office in 2010. A champion of alternative careers for PhDs, after leaving academia he worked briefly in the biotech industry and as an independent consultant before returning to UBC in 2015 as a cofounder of Cannevert Therapeutics, a startup drug research and analytical services company. Andrew is currently the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance for Cannevert and holds an adjunct faculty position in the UBC Department of Pharmacology.
Dr. Moslem Noori, Researcher at 1QBit.
Moslem Noori received his B.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering in 2005 and applied mathematics in 2006 from the Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta in 2008 and 2012, respectively. Moslem then held a postdoctoral position at The University of British Columbia from 2013 to 2014. He returned to the University of Alberta as an Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF) postdoctoral fellow from 2014 to 2016 and also spend time as a visiting scholar at Bell Labs. Moslem is currently a researcher at 1QB Information Technologies (1QBit) working toward developing practical applications for quantum computing. His previous industrial work experiences were at CleanKeys Inc and Baragheh Telecommunications Co. Moslem was a recipient of several awards and scholarships including the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the AITF Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Dr. Aria Hahn, Co-founder and lead research analyst of Koonkie Cloud Services.
Aria Hahn holds a masters degree in soil science from the University of Alberta and a PhD in metagenomics from the University of British Columbia. Aria’s research interest and commercial interests include multi-omics methods and the design of high performance software and analytical solutions for processing Big genomic Data. In 2016 she co-founded Koonkie, a bioinformatics company that provides bespoke services to clients across industries. Koonkie is determined to shorten the time to discovery in a simple, fast and user-friendly way. Koonkie is now launching a software platform, called Phandi which combines scientific research and data management tools into a single user interface, and delivers results ready to publish and commercialize. As a co-founder and CEO of Koonkie Cloud Services, Aria strives to simplify the path to understanding complex DNA data, so users can focus on discovery.
Dr. Noushin Nabavi, Data Scientist for the BC Provincial government.
Noushin Nabavi earned a B.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology and a PhD in Cell and Systems Biology from the University of Toronto where she worked on mesenchymal stem cell differentiation to bone. She then obtained a Siebel stem cell fellowship in 2012 from the University of California at Berkeley to work on the role of Sirtuins in aging and disease. In Silicon Valley, she co-founded a stem-cell company for Huntington disease and was involved in the strategic development and management of the company along with three other postdoctoral fellows. She then came back to Canada as a senior postdoctoral scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre and BC Cancer Agency, where she led a three year genomics project on a rare cancer called malignant peritoneal mesothelioma with funding secured from BC Cancer Foundation. She has recently joined the Integrated Data Division at the Ministry of Citizen’s Services in Victoria as a data scientist working on complex datasets to enable the development of evidence-based decision making.
Dr. Robert Judson, Senior Scientist at STEMCELL Technologies.
Dr. Robert Judson is a senior scientist at STEMCELL Technologies. In his role, Robert oversees a research team to develop, commercialize and market innovative products for the life sciences industry. As a R&D scientist, Robert is required to wear many hats and day-to-day tasks can include reviewing new licenseable technologies, assessing IP landscapes, patent writing, grant writing, developing marketing strategies, managing external collaborations, attending conferences and of course, lab work. Robert is a relative newbie to the biotech world, but over the last few years has gained a nice perspective of transitioning from an academic track to the ‘dark side’. Having being recruited out of his postdoc, he was previously training in the lab of Dr. Fabio Rossi (UBC) and received his PhD in molecular biology in the U.K under a Nuffield Foundation fellowship. Robert has, and continues to published papers on a variety of topics in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and enjoys teaching on a number of graduate programs on a voluntary basis. Robert is passionate about Canadian innovation and technology and is an advocate of synergy between government, academia and the tech-industry to tackle modern-day health care problems.
We look forward to seeing you at Postdoc Research Day to join in the discussion and see the research presentations from postdocs across UBC! Check out the web page for all the details and online registration.
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