Arizona Postdoctoral Research Conference highlights National Postdoc Week

The inaugural Arizona Postdoctoral Research Conference on September 18, was the first interdisciplinary, statewide conference organized jointly by Arizona State University and the University of Arizona’s postdoctoral offices. Postdocs from ASU, UA, Mayo Clinic and T-Gen presented on a variety of topics, ranging from the philosophy of science, to methods for mapping sediment shift, to understanding the genetics of complex conditions and diseases.

Held at the Virginia G. Piper Auditorium on the University of Arizona Downtown Phoenix Medical Campus the conference included 15-minute research presentations, a poster session, where poster presenters represented many fields in life, health, social sciences, cancer research and engineering. Attendees voted for the best poster and two runners-up. The top selected poster was “Impact of Green Infrastructure on Hydrologic Response of a Highly Engineered Commercial Catchment” by David Dziubanski. Runners-up were, “Bulk Material Based Selective Infrared Emitter for Sub-ambient Daytime Radiative Cooling” by Linshuang Long and “Heterogeneity of Cardiac Fibroblast Populations is Reduced by Transient Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibition in Hypertensive Rats'' by Alexandra Garvin.

The conference concluded with a talk on conceptualizing research problems by ASU postdoc Steve Elliott. Dr. Elliott provided a comprehensive definition of research problems, as “a state of affairs or a situation in which something valued is harmed or is obstructed from reaching an end both valued and assigned to it.”

The research conference was one of four events hosted by the ASU Postdoctoral Affairs Office during National Postdoctoral Appreciation Week, September 16-20, 2019. National Postdoc Week is organized by the National Postdoctoral Association, which is a membership organization that promotes positive change and professional development for postdocs.   

The week at ASU kicked off with the annual Appreciation Breakfast held at the University Club. The week also featured a Lunch & Learn where Dr. Bruce Rittmann presented “Keys to writing and publishing scientific papers.” The week closed with the Postdoc Family Picnic where postdocs were encouraged to bring spouses, partners and kids to socialize with other postdocs. 

This year marks the third consecutive year that the ASU Graduate College and the Postdoctoral Affairs Office have celebrated National Postdoc Appreciation Week. 

For more information about the Postdoctoral Affairs Office, visit http://graduate.asu.edu/postdocs.