All posts by jenny chik

UBC PDA Research Day: Invited Speakers

November 13, 2016Eventsjenny chik

We are excited to announce the following speakers have been invited to give 10 minutes oral presentations at our flagship event, UBC Postdoctoral Association Research Day.

The presentations will be held at LSC3 (Life Sciences Institute, map), 2:15 – 4 pm on Thursday Nov 24, 2016. Top 3 presenters will win cash prizes of up to $150.

Invited Speakers
Jenn Bossio – Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine
Innovations in sex therapy and mindfulness at UBC: Development of a novel treatment approach for couples dealing with sexual dysfunction after prostate cancer treatment.

Michael Irvine – Mathematics, Faculty of Science
Linking models of infectious diseases to policy: estimating the impact of intervention in HIV & neglected tropical diseases

Esther Maas – School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine
Return-to-work is not a single event

Paula MacDowell – Curriculum & Pedagogy, Faculty of Education
#GirlsHack@UBC

Amir Sharafian – Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science
Using low-carbon fuels with minimum environmental impacts in transportation: Green solutions to mitigate climate change

Timm Treskatis – Mathematics, Faculty of Science
Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair (or: Fast Optimisation Methods for Simulations of Viscoplastic Fluid Flow)

Alexander Weber – Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine
Diffusion Imaging Reveals White Matter Damage in Ice Hockey Players for Up To Two Months Post-Concussion

Good luck to all our presenters! See you there!

Please note: All efforts have been made to ensure the information above is accurate at time of publishing. However, the list is subject to change without notice.

PDA Social: Christmas Celebration at Nuba (UPDATED: RSVP extended to Mon Dec 5)

November 11, 2016Events, Socialsjenny chik

Join us for our annual PDA Christmas Party on Monday, 12 December at 7:00 pm at Nuba in Kitsilano! Let’s celebrate the festive season together while enjoying a delicious Lebanese buffet. Nuba offers fresh, organic food, and has many vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Cost: $28.13 per person (including 5% tax and 18% gratuity) for the Sharing Menu

Bring: If you would like to take part in a game of Thieving Secret Santa, please bring one wrapped gender-neutral gift (Value – $10-15).

RSVP by Monday, Dec 5. We have booked a private room (The Taverna) with a limited number of seats. Places will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Please contact Jessica, if you have any questions.

PDA Social: Vancouver Christmas Market on Nov 26

November 11, 2016Events, Socialsjenny chik

Join us for a visit to the Grand Opening of Vancouver’s Christmas Market on Saturday, 26 November at 11:00 am at Jack Poole Plaza (1055 Canada Place)! Experience an authentic German-inspired Christmas Market – A mix of traditional food and beverage, a selection of unique gifts, and a wide variety of cultural activities and entertainment.

Cost: If at least 15 people register, tickets cost $6 (including taxes) per person (group discount). If we have less than 15 people, tickets cost $8 (including taxes) per person.

Advantages: Each ticket (together with your ID) will serve as a Free Season Pass: You can return to the market as many times as you like all season long! Moreover, you’ll have access to the exclusive Express Lane so you can skip the queue!

So, don’t wait and RSVP by Monday, 21 November. Please sign up with your full name(s). We will order the tickets directly after the deadline. Refunds will not be possible – If you signed up but cannot attend anymore, you have to reimburse us for the cost of your ticket(s). Moreover, note that with your sign-up, you agree with paying $8 per ticket in case we don’t get enough attendees. Please bring the money in cash (the exact amount if possible) to the event date. Please contact Jessica, if you have any questions.

UBC PDA winning prizes at Mahony’s Trivia Tuesdays!

October 30, 2016Socialsjenny chik

Last week, our team from the UBC Postdoctoral Association came 3^rd in our Tuesday Night Pub Quiz at Mahony’s (we were beaten to second place by only a half point)! As a reward, we won more ballots for the grand prize, and 2 collectible goal-synced light-up beer glasses from Budweiser. After syncing to your phone, they light up each time its’ users preferred team scores a goal, which sounds pretty fun. In the previous week, we came second. Our prizes were a long-sleeved T-shirt and two baseball caps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EumCd6su0ZA

The Pub Quiz is on weekly at Tuesday evenings until Nov 29. We meet at 7:30 pm at Mahony’s at 5990 University Blvd near the UBC Bus Loop (map). Pub quiz to start at 8:00 pm (continues until about 9.30 pm). Join us for some fun, food and trivia at next week’s Trivia night Nov 1!

UBC PDA to join Parade of Lost Souls – the biggest Halloween party in Vancouver!

October 26, 2016Socialsjenny chik

When and Where: Saturday, October 29. Meet at Stateside Craft (map) for a beer at 7 pm. We head to the parade by 8:00 pm. Optional after-party from 9pm-2am.
Please be at Stateside Craft before we depart at 8:00pm. This event will be very crowded and we will not find each other if we don’t all meet up first.

Details: A description of the Parade of Lost Souls can be found here. Basically it’s a Halloween-themed parade/party through the arts district on Commercial Drive followed by an after-party. Everyone who wishes to attend the after-party will be responsible for obtaining their own tickets, so don’t miss out! Please RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

Tuesday Night Pub Quiz at Mahony’s is back! Starting Oct 4

October 7, 2016Socialsjenny chik

Is your head crammed with useless information that is waiting to be freed? Then this evening is for you! Join us for Pub Quiz nights in the fall every Tuesday at 7:30 pm at Mahony and Sons, UBC. It’s taco Tuesday and there are drink specials available.

We are looking to repeat our win of the summer series this fall! Please contact us if you have any questions.

You can add this event to your Google Calendar by clicking on the button below. Alternatively, you can subscribe to the entire calendar, with all our events, here!

Celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week with UBC PDA!

September 20, 2016Socialsjenny chik

There will be an annual BBQ on Thursday, September 22 from 12 noon at St John’s College. This will be followed by a dinner this Friday (details below).

National Postdoc Appreciation Week Dinner

When: Friday, September 23, @ 7:00pm Where: The Eatery – 3431 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6R 2B4 (map)
Details: The Eatery is probably the coolest sushi place in Kitsilano. It’s known for its creative sushi rolls and its artsy atmosphere. Appetizers will be covered by the PDA, then we’ll walk down the street for a beer. RSVP to Justin Hart.

Catch you there!

What is National Postdoc Appreciation week? National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW), sponsored by the National Postdoctoral Association, takes place September 19-23, 2016. Now in its seventh year, NPAW will be celebrated across Canada and the U.S. to create awareness of and recognize the contributions that postdocs make to research.

Make your voice heard: UBC Federal Research and Innovation Initiatives Consultation

September 3, 2016Policyjenny chik

Members of the UBC research community across every discipline, including postdocs, are invited to participate in a campus-wide consultation to share their advice and perspective on the input UBC provides to the federal government on its Review of Fundamental Science in Canada. UBC is seeking input on the questions pertaining to scientific research in Canada, such as:

How do we develop, recruit, and retain talent?
What is the best structure of granting councils and peer review?
How should Canada participate in international research?

If these issues resonate with you, please attend the roundtable meetings, planned as follows:

Tuesday, September 6, 1.00-3.00 pm
UBC Vancouver Campus
Seminar Room,
Sage Bistro
6331 Crescent Road, Vancouver
Wednesday, September 7, 2:00-4:00pm
Blusson Lecture Hall,
ICORD
818, West 10th Avenue, Vancouver

Please express your interest in participating in one of these roundtable sessions via the form here.

Alternatively, you can contribute through a direct written response to the Fundamental Science Review here through the Government of Canada.

PDA Socials for August

August 6, 2016Events, Socialsjenny chik

Join one today! If you’re nervous about finding us, or have any other questions about our socials, please e-mail Justin Hart, at justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca.

Dinner & Bar Night at Storm Crow Alehouse

When: Aug 19, 2016 @ 6:00pm

Where: Storm Crow Alehouse, 1619 W Broadway (map)

Details: Storm Crow Alehouse is Vancouver’s premier fandom & geekdom themed bar. Drink shots randomly assigned by the roll of a D20, or randomly generate a dungeon burger! Play board games from Storm Crow’s extensive menu. Bond with your fellow postdocs in the closest approximation to our natural habitat outside the laboratory. RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca

Movie Night at Justin’s

When: Aug 27, 2016 @ 6:00pm

Where: Justin’s House – RSVP for address

Details: This spring, members of the postdoctoral association helped Justin build massive projection home theater in his home. Unfortunately, this will be the last hurrah of the home theater, as he is moving to a new residence. We’ll vote on 2 Blu-Ray movies and watch them in style. BYOB RSVP to justin.hart@mech.ubc.ca

See you there!

UBC PDA Trivia Team Wins Grand Prize for Spring Season!

July 9, 2016Socialsjenny chik

Congratulations to our small, but dedicated team of trivia buffs! The UBC PDA Trivia Team won the Mahony’s Tuesday Trivia Grand Prize for the Spring Season! Showing up every week for the 12 week season, the team placed in the top 3 over 8 times, winning Mahony’s gift certificates and ballots for the grand prize draw! We plan to enjoy these fruits of our labour by having a celebratory party at Mahony’s over the summer.

Trivia is completely a numbers game – the more people on your team, the better you do, no one person knows the answers to all the questions, and our small team definitely didn’t! If this is an event you’d like to see occur again, or would like to participate in the future, please contact us and let us know!