Virtual Postdoc Research Day on Monday, January 18^th, 2021

We are excited to announce that our biggest event of the year is coming up! Please join us for Postdoc Research Day, an all-day event featuring:

• Research talks by UBC Vancouver and Okanagan Postdocs across diverse disciplines
• Two amazing Keynote Speakers: Dr. Connie Eaves (UBC Professor, Medical Genetics) and Dr. Allen Eaves (CEO, STEMCELL Technologies) talking about their experiences in academic and industry career paths.
• Two Career Panels, with one focusing on the academic job search and the other centering on non-academic careers.
• Brief message from Dr. Gail C. Murphy, Vice-President Research & Innovation, and Dr. Peter Simpson, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies (Okanagan)
• Postdoc Town Hall, where the PDA would love to hear about your experience as a postdoc, especially how the pandemic has affected you. We will also be sharing the results of our COVID-19 Research Curtailment Survey and how we are working to advocate for you.

When: Monday, January 18^th, 2021 at 9:30am – 6:00pm

Where: online via Zoom (those that register will receive the Zoom meeting link and information prior to the event)

This is a free event! Register Here!

Research Talks

Everyone is welcome! Join us for an exciting interdisciplinary event hearing about the amazing work by postdocs across the UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

Registration is necessary to attend and present. Click here to register!

Keynote Lecture

We are excited to introduce Dr. Connie and Allen Eaves as our Keynote Speakers. They will be sharing their career paths and experiences in academia and industry, respectively.

Connie Eaves

Dr. Connie Eaves, PhD FRS(C) Corresp FRS(Edinburgh), is a Professor of Medical Genetics at UBC and Distinguished Scientist at the BC Cancer Research Institute. Her research over several decades, with more than 500 published papers, has advanced our understanding of stem cell biology and cancer development in blood and mammary cells, with important implications for improving cancer treatment. She has received numerous national and international awards and honours, not only for her scientific contributions but also for her role as a national leader, dedicated mentor and valued collaborator in the pursuit of new understanding of cell regulation that will stand the test of time and enable the more effective diagnosis and management of human disease.

Allen Eaves

Dr. Allen Eaves, OBC MD PhD FRCPC, was the founding Director of the Terry Fox Laboratory and Head of Clinical Hematology at UBC. Professor Emeritus of Hematology since 2006, he has devoted himself to building STEMCELL Technologies Inc, which he founded in 1993 to provide standardized reagents for stem cell, regenerative medicine and cancer research. Always profitable, and with 97% of its sales outside of Canada, STEMCELL is Canada’s largest biotech company with ~1500 employees and a global network of sales offices and distribution centres. Dr. Eaves is passionate about creating rewarding employment for those who love science.

Career Panels

This year, we will have two concurrent career panels. One will be focused on the academic job search while the other panel will be centered on non-academic careers. Come with any questions you have and hear from several panelists in these fields as they discuss their experience transitioning from a Postdoc, the application process, and more!

Academic Panel:

Non-Academic Panel:

Brief Message from Dr. Gail C. Murphy and Dr. Peter Simpson

Don’t miss Dr. Gail Murphy, Vice-President Research & Innovation, and Dr. Peter Simpson, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies (Okanagan) as they join us during Research Day to share a brief statement about the UBC postdoc community.

Postdoc Town Hall

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 experience as a postdoc. We especially would like to hear about how the pandemic has affected you. We will be sharing the results of our COVID-19 Research Curtailment Survey that was launched this summer and the ways we are working to address the concerns you voiced in that survey. We would also love to hear about other experiences you have as a postdoc: How are you liking our virtual or physically-distanced socials? 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!

A Note on the Virtual Format

Each year, the Postdoc Research Day is not only a professional development opportunity, it is also a great venue for networking, meeting and socializing with other postdocs. While it will be virtual this year, we are still striving to provide an enriching and comfortable environment for postdocs to make connections. We will be having virtual “coffee breaks” and an online social hour after the event.

We look forward to joining you at this year’s Postdoc Research Day!

Click here to register!

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.

Abstract Submissions are now OPEN!

Please only follow this if you have registered to present a poster but have not yet sent us your abstract.

Find all the information about the event here.

We invite abstract submission from all postdoctoral fellows and research associates currently working at UBC departments and affiliated institutes. You can submit an abstract to be considered for a talk, a poster, or both. We will accept all eligible poster presenters.

Talks will be 15 minutes in length, including 5 minutes at the end for questions. Talks and posters will be judged, with prizes awarded to the best 3 of each type – $150/$100/$50 for talks and $75/$50/$25 for posters!

First, register online for the event.

The conference will be attended by postdocs, students, faculty, and others from all departments and institutes at UBC. Therefore, it is important to target abstracts, talks, and posters for a general, non-expert audience. The judges will also have a broad range of expertise, and suitability for the audience will be a factor in their scoring.

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words; no tables or graphics are permitted. Abstracts will be selected for oral presentations based on quality, interest and suitability for a general audience, and to prioritise a diverse programme.

Download the abstract template.

Please download and complete the abstract template, and email the completed document to us. To be eligible for participation, abstracts for talks must be received by 6 pm 14 November, and abstracts for posters must be received by 6 pm 23 November.