Events

Call for nominations: PDA 2020-2021 Executive Team

AGM, Events, Executive

We are excited to announce the call for nominations for candidates to be part of the UBC Postdoctoral Association’s 2020-2021 Executive Team!

Indicate your intent to run by Sunday March 8th!

  • Represent the postdoc community
  • Gain leadership and management experience
  • Organize professional development, research and networking events
  • Interact with big-name academics, advocates, and UBC leadership

The PDA is run by Elected Volunteer Officers (the President and 6 Vice-Presidents). All 7 positions will be elected for the 2020-2021 year at our Annual General Meeting, held on Wednesday, March 11th in the Biomedical Research Centre, room 351 at 5 pm. A list of open positions and a description of their roles can be found below.

All UBC postdocs and research associates are encouraged to attend the AGM on March 11th for the elections. The event will be followed by a celebration with food and drinks!

Self-Nomination: Download the UBC PDA nomination form here. Please fill out this form and return it to ubc.postdoc@gmail.com along with a recent photo and a short Letter of Interest (100-200 words) detailing why you would like to serve and any relevant experience.

Do you want to join the PDA, but you are not committed to becoming an elected officer? No problem! We are always looking for new members for our executive team to help us organise our events and bring in their ideas! Just get in touch with us via e-mail.

Further details about the elected positions

Continue reading →

Canadian National Postdoc Survey

CAPS/ACSP, Events, Policy, Uncategorized
Have your say in the fourth edition of the Canadian National Postdoctoral Scholars Survey!
The Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) invites all current and former Canadian postdocs, including international postdocs working in Canada and Canadian postdocs working abroad, to complete the fourth edition of the Canadian National Postdoctoral Scholars Survey. It is the largest and most comprehensive assessment of Canadian postdocs in all fields of study, and its findings are used by funders, universities, and others.

The survey covers a wide range of topics, including demographics, salary and benefits, training needs, and career goals of current or former Canadian postdocs. In addition to collecting valuable longitudinal data, this edition of the survey tackles issues such as discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and working remotely.

Please complete the survey by 14 February, 2020.
The results of the survey will be published later this year.

Postdoc Holiday Party at East is East

Events, Socials

Sign up by Monday, December 2nd to ensure your spot at our table. We have booked a semi-private room with live music, but only with a limited number of seats. Places will be based on a first come first serve basis.

Where: East is East in Kitsilano, 3035 W Broadway
(https://www.eastiseast.ca)
When: Wednesday, December 11, at 6 pm
Cost: $50 per person (+$2 fee for music and gratuity) for all you can eat “feast” with many meat and vegetarian/vegan and gluten free options.

The UBC PDA will subsidize the event by AT LEAST $10 per person (We will try to subsidize more, pending on our budget).

 

Register here: http://bit.ly/2Kp9dzT

Note that the UBC PDA will only partly sponsor the cost of the food! You have to pay extra for drinks.

Postdoc Research Day 2019

Events, Professional Development, Research Day, Seminars, Socials, Uncategorized

Postdoc Research Day on Monday, December 2nd

sponsored by STEMCELL Technologies

Our biggest event of the year is coming up! Postdoc Research Day is a full day of interdisciplinary talks by postdocs at UBC in a fantastic venue at a large capacity.

Register here: https://bit.ly/2MXleOJ

Everyone is welcome to attend, but only UBC affiliated postdocs can present.

Abstract submission has closed now, but we are still accepting registrations until Nov 30 at noon!

Find the abstract book here: https://bit.ly/35JGb6e

Where? Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, UBC Campus

When? Monday, December 2nd

Research Day: 9 am – 5.30 pm

Evening reception from 5:30 pm onwards (networking + dinner)

This year’s speaker line-up is showcasing the diversity of research by postdocs at UBC!

08:30 – 09:00 Registration (Atrium)

09:00-09:15 Welcome & Introduction, Dr. Daniel Anstett, President UBC PDA  (Lecture Theatre)

09:15 – 10:30 Research Session 1 (Lecture Theatre)

Full talks: 

09:15-09:30 Dr. Victoria Hemming, Forestry
Who to trust? How to derive improved quantitative judgements from experts for models and decisions

09:30-09:45 Dr. Rohan Abraham, BC Cancer Research Centre
Machine Learning CADx process for classification of sub-cm Lung nodules in the PanCan study

09:45-10:00 Dr. Jesse Chao, Cell & Physiological Sciences
A premalignant cell-based model for functionalization and classification of PTEN variants

Lightning Talks:

10:00-10:05 Dr. Marita Rodriguez, Engineering
3D Bioprinted human cardiac tissues for toxicity screening applications

10:05-10:10 Dr. Doris Chow, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Eyes as a window to global motion perception: A validation of an oculomotor tracking task to assess motion sensitivity in depth

10:10-10:15 Dr. Angelica Araujo de Melo Maia, Education
What does it take to be (come) an inclusive teacher?

10:15-10:20 Dr. Kiran Pawar, Department of Medicine, ICORD
Non-invasive chronic spinal stimulation as multi-session therapy to improve cardiovascular function after spinal cord injury

10:20-10:25 Dr. Dustin Heeney, Food Science
The green wave of medicine: Exploring the anti-inflammatory potential of Canadian hemp to treat irritable bowel disease

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break (Atrium)

11:00-12:15 Research Session 2 (Lecture Theatre)

Full talks:

11:00-11:15 Dr. Antonin Machac, Biodiversity
Diversity dynamics across scales

11:15-11:30 Dr. Omid Haji-Ghassemi, Biochemistry
Modification of heart channel proteins via stress signalling

11:30-11:45 Dr. Peifan Wu, Vancouver School of Economics
Firm demographics and the Great Recession

Lightning talks:

11:45-11:50 Dr. Chelsea Little, Zoology
Animals link ecosystems through resource movement

11:50-11:55 Dr. Christina Gray, Architecture
Architectural clients in the era of consumer empowerment

11:55-12:00 Dr. Sarah Grasedieck, Michael Smith Laboratories
Vitamin C-induced epigenomic remodelling as a preventive therapy for leukemic transformation

12:00-12:05 Dr. Lisanne de Vries, Wood Science
Plants are alternative for fossil fuels

12:05-12:10 Dr. Jon Breen, Occupational Science & Therapy
Measuring workplace attitude towards disabled employees

12:15-13:30 Lunch (Atrium)

12:45-13:30 Townhall (Lecture Theatre)

13:30-14:15 Research Session 3 (Lecture Theatre)

13:30-13:45 Dr. Elvin Ong, Public policy & Global affairs
Is it worth it? Building opposition alliances in electoral autocracies

13:45-14:00 Dr. Rohan Khadilkar, Cell & Physiological Sciences
Stem cell-niche interactions regulate signalling micro environment and innate immune response in Drosophila

14:00-14:15 Dr. Emanuel Serban, Engineering
New solar power conservation architecture for renewable energy systems

14:15-14:30 Short break

14:30-15:30 Keynote Lecture by Dr. Josef Penninger, From haploid stem cells to blood vessel engineering (Lecture Theatre)

15:30-16:00 Coffee Break (Atrium)

16:00-17:15 Postdoc Careers Panel Discussion (Lecture Theatre)

17:15-17:30 Prizes & Wrap-up (Lecture Theatre), Dr. Daniel Anstett, President UBC PDA

17:30 onwards Evening Reception Drinks & light supper

 

In addition to the interdisciplinary talks by postdocs, there will be a keynote lecture by Dr. Josef Penninger about his research “From Haploid stem cells to blood vessel engineering” and about experience in academia and industry and his path to becoming the director of the Life Sciences Institute at UBC.

Josef Martin Penninger, born in Gurten, Austria, is an Austrian geneticist and the Canada 150 Research Chair in Functional Genetics. Dr. Penninger is currently the Director of the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) at the University of British Columbia. He studied medicine at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. From 1990 to 1994 he worked as post-doctoral fellow at the Ontario Cancer Institute, thereafter until 2002 at the Department of Immunology and Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. As Principal Investigator of Amgen, his independent lab contributed to the development of the antibody Denosumab for bone loss and also found the first connection for RANKL to mammary gland development in pregnancy and breast cancer. In 2002, he moved to Vienna, Austria to start and develop the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which is now the largest and most successful institute of the Academy based on high impact publications and the number of European Research Council grants received. 

Dr. Penninger envisions to recreate this environment at the LSI to nurture and train the best and brightest young minds of UBC scholars. His major accomplishments include pioneering insights into the molecular basis of osteoporosis, breast cancer and metastasis, and he has published extensively in several multidisciplinary scientific journals, with over 60 publications in Cell, Nature, and Science. He has received numerous awards including the Wittgenstein Prize of the Austrian Federal Government. the Descartes Prize for Research, the Ernst Jung Prize for Medical Excellence, the Innovator Award of the US Department of Defense, and most recently the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art First Class. 

During lunch, we will hold our first ever Postdoc Townhall Meeting

The UBC PDA wants to hear from you! As the independent organization working to represent all UBC postdoctoral fellows and advocate on their behalf, the PDA would love to hear about your life postdoc-ing! Should we have more coffee parties or pub crawls? Are you satisfied with your professional development opportunities? How about that extended benefits package? Come chat with the PDA exec team and help us prepare an advocacy agenda that represents you!

An industry focused career panel in the afternoon will feature representatives from local companies that are employing PhDs (to be announced). This year’s line-up for the career panel includes:

Dr. Theresa Grieco, STEMCELL technologies 

Dr. Ellen Schelew, Lumerical Inc.

Dr. Conny Lin, College of Pharmacists BC

Dr. Friderike Moon, Science World

Dr. Stefanie Vogt, AbCellera

Dr. Sherry Wang, Genome Sciences Centre

 

We are looking forward to seeing you at Postdoc Research Day 2019!

Registration: https://bit.ly/2MXleOJ

 

 

Halloween Social on Oct 24th

Events, Socials

Don’t celebrate Halloween alone!

Join us Thursday, October 24th for a U-PICK tour of the magnificent brewery scene in Vancouver! We’ll start at 7:00 pm wherever you guys vote to start! Costumes are highly encouraged (but not required).

Sign up to let us know that you’re joining! We’ll be live-tweeting the event (@UBCPostdoc), so that way you can find us if you want to meet up later.

Happy Halloween!!

Register HERE: https://bit.ly/2MJVFzl

Please contact Ryan (at rsweeney@chem.ubc.ca), if you have any questions.

Postdoc Appreciation Week 2019

Events, Socials

Postdoc Appreciation Week is coming up in September. Institutions from all over the world (mostly US, Canada, UK) celebrate the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to research and discovery, for example by hoding special events. More information about Postdoc Appreciation Week in the US, where it originated, can be found here.
Stay tuned for more information about events at UBC. We are sharing the events organized by us and by the PDFO and will update this post and our twitter (@UBCPostdoc) once we are aware of other events
#NPAW2019

PDA Postdoc Appreciation Week Dinner on Sept 20th

We are teaming up with the SFU PDA to celebrate being a postdoc while enjoying drinks and dinner. Join us for a fun evening at Craft Beer Market. Appies are on us!

When? Sept 20th, 7 pm

Where? Craft Beer Market Olympic Village, 85 W 1st Ave

Register here: https://bit.ly/2luub75

Make sure to sign up fast as space is limited!

 

PDFO Postdoc Appreciation BBQ

The PDFO is hosting a barbecue for postdocs on Sept 19th.

From the PDFO website:
As a token of our appreciation, we will be hosting our Annual BBQ event on Thursday, September 19, 2019 and would be pleased if you could join us.

Join us for check-in and fun photos at 11:30, followed by the barbecue at 12:00. The event is expected to last between 1.5 to 2 hours.

As part of this event, postdocs will be eligible to win prizes from a variety of on- and off-campus donors; in order to receive a prize, attendance is required at the time of the draw.

RSVPs for this event are required and can be submitted at
https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0CEYv4026eCZe5L.
Those successfully registered will receive an email from the PDFO in advance of the barbecue. RSVPs are required by Thursday, September 12, 2019.

 

Other on campus events:

Biodiversity Research Centre

Postdoctoral Fellows from the Biodiversity Research Centre are invited to the Black Hole at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 17 for coffee and cake.

Botany

In order to help celebrate National Post Doc Appreciation Week (September 16-20) we would like to invite you to lunch.

Wednesday, September 18th, 2019; 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm at the newly renovated botany meeting space just across from the new botany office (RM 3159). Please RSVP till Sept 17th at noon and notify isabel.ferens@botany.ubc.ca about allergies/dietary restrictions

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

The Department of Microbiology & Immunology at UBC organized a microbiology & immunology postdoc and research associate appreciation & research night on Tuesday September 17, 2019, 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (LSC, West Atrium), UBC. The event includes a social, poster presentation (optional), dinner & drink, and prizes and gifts. Invited are postdocs, research associates, and the department’s faculty. Please RSVP.

Michael Smith labs

MSL Seminar Series with talks from both lab trainees and faculty.These run monthly and typically land on the 3rd Wednesday of each month (with a few exceptions), 3 PM in the Lecture Theater. This week also marks a special occasion, this isNational Postdoc Appreciation Week. To recognize the ever-valuable contributions of our postdoctoral fellows in the MSL, we will be serving cupcakes and desserts at 2:30 PM in the multipurpose room, ahead of the seminar at 3PM. Everyone is encouraged to come for the brief snack and express your appreciation to our amazing postdocs. All welcome.

The Michael Smith Laboratories Seminar Series
from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, MSL Auditorium

Trainee Talks

Haney Lab, Jessie Zhang; Title: “Outer-membrane Modifications in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Host Association”

Mayor Lab, Erich Kuechler; Title: “Feature Analysis and Characterization of Stress Granule Proteins”

Faculty Talk

Dave Ng; Title: “Using the Phylo Card Game to Advance Biodiversity Conservation in an Era of Pokémon”

 

FREE CAPS/ACSP WEBINARS

The Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) is offering a series of webinars that are free to CAPS members.

Preparing for the rest of your career after your postdoc

Tuesday, September 17th from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EDT)

CAPS is proud to present “Preparing for the rest of your career after you postdoc” by Dr. Marianne Chevrier from Adoc Talent Agency on Tuesday, September 17th from 2-3pm (EDT). Dr. Chevrier will present ways to help PhDs assess their marketable skills and strategies to excel throughout the job hiring process.

To participate, simply register for the webinar in advance. It’s free!

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_otK37OTtTTKIczT2l4lSWw

How to apply for an NSERC fellowship

Wednesday, September 18th from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EDT)

Join CAPS as we present “How to apply for an NSERC fellowship” by Amy Reckling from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada on Wednesday, September 18th from 2-3:30pm (EDT). Amy Reckling will discuss opportunities and provide tips for writing a killer fellowship application.

To participate, simply register for the webinar in advance. It’s free!

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8mZiYTw3SM2x8Jday8FCPw

Thursday, September 19th from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (EDT)

The third webinar for Postdoc Appreciation Week (PAW) will be presented by our very own Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Sparling! Join us from 2-3pmEDT on Thursday September 19th to learn more about the CAPS mission, our advocacy work, and about the resources and support services that CAPS provides. This session will also offer participants the opportunity to ask us any of their burning questions about postdoc life!

To participate, simply register for the webinar in advance. It’s free!

Mount Strachan Hike and Dinner on August 24th

Events, Socials, Uncategorized

 

(Photo: Vancouvertrails.com)

Get your hiking boots ready, because we are planning to hike Mount Strachan on August 24th, followed by dinner.

What? Mount Strachan Hike
When? Aug 24th, 9 am
Where? Cypress Mountain Ski Resort parking lot

We are meeting at the Cypress Mountain Ski Resort parking lot at 9 am. Registration is required so that we can organise carpooling.
This will be a joint event co-hosted by us and the SFU PDA.

You can find more information about the trail here.
It’s a 10.5km loop with 550 m elevation gain that’s rated as intermediate.
Mount Strachan is one of the three mountains in the Cypress Mountain Ski Resort area and the challenging terrain on the hike  is rewarded on a clear day with views of Howe Sound and backcountry mountains as far north as Garibaldi Provincial Park. Another point of interest along the trail is the historical crash site of a Royal Canadian Navy T-33 Jet where several pieces of the aircraft still rest today.

What to bring:

After this strenuous day, you are more than welcome to join us for dinner. Also feel free to come just for dinner if hiking isn’t your thing or you aren’t able to join for the first part of the day due to time or physical limitations. Dinner will be be tentatively set for StormCrow on Commercial Drive at 6 pm, but there’s a slight chance the venue might change – we will keep you posted. The first round of appetizers is on us!

What? Dinner – for hikers and non-hikers 🙂
When? Aug 24th, 6 pm
Where? StormCrow on Commercial Drive (we will let you know in case this changes)

If you want to join for the hike, dinner or both, please
Register HERE: https://bit.ly/2MNvMQM

The registration is necessary so that we can organise car pooling and can estimate how many people will join for dinner.

The hike will be weather permitting and we will contact all participants via e-mail a day before the hike to confirm.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions!

Summertime fun! – PDA Beach BBQ Party on July 20th

Events, Socials

Fun in the sun! Join us for a Beach BBQ Party on Locarno Beach
on July 20th!

We will begin BBQing at 4 pm.

What to expect:
Free food and non-alcoholic drinks provided by the PDA!
Hang out in the sun or get active!

Feel free to bring additional food and drinks as well as whatever you need for fun activities (soccer, frisbee, …). We will bring a volleyball net and a volleyball.

Register here to let us know if you’re coming and to help us estimate how much food to buy.

We’ll be live-tweeting the event (@UBCPostdoc), so that way you can find us once we head out for after sunset beers!

See you in the sun!

Our popular 3 Minute Postdoc Slam is back on June 14th

3MPS, Events

Our 3 Minute Postdoc Slam is back!

When? June 14th, 3 pm to 5:30 pm, followed by a catered evening reception

Where? Michael Smith labs on UBC campus, room 102

What is happening?

The 3 Minute Slam is a speed conference, showing the awesome research of UBC postdocs in just 3 minutes 0n a single static slide. Learn how amazing the research of other UBC postdocs is and present your own project in a short and sweet talk – for the chance to win amazing prizes! Cash prizes will be given out for the three best talks – and this is not all. Coffee and cookies will be provided and there will also be a keynote lecture about science communication by Kaylee Byers and Michael Unger, the people behind Nerd Nite Vancouver. The event is followed by a networking reception with free food and drinks. Please indicate if you want to stay for the reception so that we can estimate catering size.

Everyone can attend, but the 3 minute talk competition is only open to postdocs. Register here until May 30th! Please submit an abstract if you want to present your research in a 3 minute talk.

Sounds great! I want to present! How do I prepare myself?

It is a hard-learned yet critical skill to communicate the essence of your research to an audience with a wide range of expertise and background. It may be intimidating, but the result is fun and rewarding, let alone the prizes you can win! For some inspiration on great 3 minute talks check out these helpful tips and have a look at winning talks from previous years on our YouTube channel and on the UBC grad student’s 3 Minute Thesis website.

I don’t want to present. Can I still attend?

For sure! It’s going to be a lot of fun.

#3MPS2019 (@UBCPostdoc)

Don’t forget to register!