The Annual Postdoc Symposium is a dynamic event designed to enhance the professional development of postdoctoral scholars at Washington University in St. Louis. This one-day symposium offers a range of workshops and sessions focused on career advancement, skills development, and networking opportunities. Connect with academic and industry professionals, learn about campus resources, and build a supportive community with fellow postdocs. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to expand your skills, knowledge, and network!

This annual event is sponsored by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.


19th Annual Postdoc Symposium

March 29, 2024

Symposium Schedule

8:30 am

Registration & Breakfast

9:00 am

Welcome & Keynote

Moore Auditorium

10:00 am

Break

10:15 am

Concurrent Sessions

Session 1: Thriving at WashU
Session 2: Mentoring as Teaching Experience


Moore Auditorium

FLTC 303 & 304

11:45 am

Lunch

FLTC 302

1:00 pm

Professional Bio Writing

Moore Auditorium

2:30 pm

Career Professional Round Tables

FLTC 303 & 304

4:00 pm

Resource Fair

5:30 pm

Pizza Party with WUPS

Keynote Address
Pores, Pregnancy, and Policy:
Pivoting During Your Career

with Sarah K. England, PhD
9-10am Moore Auditorium

Dr. England is the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis. She also directs the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences and is a Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology. Dr. England’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying uterine function during pregnancy. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, and other funding agencies.

She has authored over 100 research and review articles and has reviewed for over 50 journals in basic science, translational, and clinical fields. Dr. England serves on review committees for multiple funding agencies including the NIH, American Heart Association, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She was a former Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for one year on policies related to maternal child health issues, women’s health, and the healthcare workforce. Her memberships include: National Academy of Medicine, Society for Reproductive Investigation, Society for the Study of Reproduction, Perinatal Research Society, American Physiological Society, and Society for General Physiologists.

Concurrent Session 1

Thriving at WashU

10:15-11:45am Moore Auditorium

10:15am: Time Management for Wellness


10:45am: Childcare Resources


11:15am: Mindfulness and Resiliency

Erin McGraw
Registered Dietitian, MyWay to Health


Lisa Eberle-Mayse
Child and Family Care Facilitator

Meg Krejci
Wellness Consultant for Mindfulness

Concurrent Session 2

Mentoring as Teaching Experience:
Sharing Your Mentoring Philosophy in Job Market Materials

10:15-11:45am FLTC 303 & 304

Hosted by The Center for Teaching and Learning

When you mentor a student, you develop skills for helping a mentee to engage deeply with a topic and grow as a critical thinker. Being a successful mentor requires providing mentees with a supportive environment in which they can explore and learn. In this workshop, participants will explore established mentorship tools, consider the characteristics of effective mentorship, and reflect on ways a mentoring philosophy informs one’s approach to teaching.

Workshop Facilitators:

Denise Leonard, PhD
Associate Director for Graduate Student and Postdoc Programs

Lisa Kuehne, PhD
Assistant Director of Graduate and Postdoc Programs

Session 3

Professional Bio Writing

1-2:30pm Moore Auditorium

Facilitated by Steven Harowitz, Executive Director of Campfire

This workshop will help you write a new, story-based professional biography. Participants will have the opportunity to be interviewed in pairs and have a first draft of a professional “bio” written for them. This workshop not only provides you with a new bio, but also with training on storytelling and new connections with other workshop participants. You will walk out of this workshop with:

  • First draft of a professional bio that can be used in your LinkedIn profile, conference programs, on your organization’s website, and anywhere else a professional bio is useful
  • A better understanding of the narrative arc
  • New skills for writing things like bios, cover letters, and abstracts
  • More confidence in sharing your professional journey with others

Session 4

Career Professional Round Tables

2:30-4pm FLTC 302,303 & 304


This session features 12 separate roundtables, each with 1 career professional and room for 8 postdocs. The session will be split into three 30-minute segments where postdocs will be able to rotate tables to speak with up to 3 different career professionals in industries of their choice.

Table Topic

Speaker

Academic Administration
(staff)

Diana Silva José-Edwards, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Office of Undergraduate Research
Washington University in St. Louis

Academic Investigator
(domestic background)

Benjamin Garcia, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished Professor of Biological Chemistry
Washington University in St. Louis

Academic Investigator
(international background)

Mohini Sengupta, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biology
Saint Louis University

Consulting

Thi Nguyen, Ph.D.
Workforce Prep & Virtual Learning Consultant

Data Science

Tzai-Shuen (Sean) Chen, Ph.D.
Senior Data Scientist
Bayer

Entrepreneurship

Christian Harding, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Co-Founder
Omniose

Grant writing

Paul Cassidy, Ph.D.
Scientific Editor
Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis

Industry Research

Samuel Pushparaj, Ph.D.
Scientist I
Vir Biotechnology, Inc.

Non-profit

Victoria Eudy, Ph.D.
Manager of Institutional Evaluation
Missouri Historical Society

Public Scholarship

Chris Schaberg, Ph.D.
Director of Public Scholarship
Program in Public Scholarship
Washington University in St. Louis

Research Communication

Rachel D. Hendrix, Ph.D.
Medical Science Liaison
Life Molecular Imaging

Postdoc Networking

Sade Williams Clayton, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Orthopaedics

Other Events


Sign up for a free headshot!
Photographer Jerry Naunheim will be available from 12:30pm-5:30pm taking headshots in the FLTC Hearth.

Need to take a break?
The FLTC Hearth will be available throughout the duration of the symposium.

Don’t forget to smile for the camera!
Photographer Carol Green will be capturing candid moments throughout the day.

Thank you to our committee of amazing postdoc volunteers!

A small group of WashU postdocs have been meeting regularly since November 2023 to plan and help ensure the symposium is a success. Without their dedication and help the symposium would not be possible!

Adebiyi Adeniran

Richa Mishra

Sreeram Udayan

Kanwal Batool

Anyesha Sarkar

Ray Yang

Alzina Koric

Nai-Wen Tien

Wolfgang Zober