The Annual Postdoc Symposium is a dynamic event designed to enhance the professional development of WashU postdocs. This one-day gathering 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.
20th Annual Postdoc Symposium
Check back often as additional details will be announced.
Keynote Address
9:30-10:15am | Connor Auditorium
Alison L. Antes, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
WashU Medicine Division of General Medicine & Geriatrics
Symposium Schedule
| Time | Session | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am | Registration & Breakfast | Connor Auditorium |
| 9:30 am | Welcome Keynote: Dr. Alison Antes | Connor Auditorium |
| 10:15 am | Break | |
| 10:30 am | Morning Concurrent Session 1: TBD | Connor Auditorium |
| 10:30 am | Morning Concurrent Session 2: Exploring the Art of Improv in Our Teaching Practices | FLTC 302, 303, 304 |
| 11:45 am | Lunch | |
| 1:00 pm | Afternoon Concurrent Session 1: Once Upon a Job Talk: Using Storytelling and Performativity to Deliver a Winning Job Talk | Connor Auditorium |
| 1:00 pm | Afternoon Concurrent Session 2: TBA | FLTC 302, 303, 304 |
| 2:15 pm | Break | |
| 2:30 pm | Career Professional Roundtables | FLTC 302, 303, 304 |
| 4:00 pm | Resource Fair | FLTC Atrium |
| 5:30 pm | Event concludes |
Morning Concurrent Session 2
10:30-11:45am | FLTC 302, 303 & 304
Exploring the Art of Improv in Our Teaching Practices
Denise Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Graduate Student and Postdoc Programs
The Center for Teaching and Learning
How can the art of improv support your teaching activities and bring more joy into the classroom? Traditional approaches to teaching in the college classroom can often be stilted and scripted. Yet, in order to respond to our students’ needs and draw them into the learning process deeply we need to be present, flexible, and responsive as instructors. Improv is a great theatrical tool to improve public speaking and listening skills as well as helping one think quickly on their feet. Improv skills also helps our students to build strong collaboration skills and encourages them to take risks in the classroom. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to incorporate improv principles into both our teaching and our students’ learning. Be prepared to try out simple, fun activities – zero acting skills or experience required!
Afternoon Concurrent Session 1
1:00-2:15pm | FLTC 302, 303 & 304
Once Upon a Job Talk: Using Storytelling and Performativity to Deliver a Winning Job Talk
Cindy Reed, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
The job talk can often feel like a humdrum process. However, sharing your ideas and research should be exciting for you and your audience. This workshop demonstrates how to make a positive, memorable impression on prospective colleagues by elevating the job talk from simply sharing scholarship to storytelling, from reading a paper to delivering a performance.
Afternoon Concurrent Session 2
1:00-2:15pm | Connor Auditorium
TBA
Thi Nguyen, Ph.D.
Nguyen Education & Workforce Consulting
Career Professional Roundtables
2:30-4:00pm | 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 to allow postdocs to rotate tables to speak with up to 3 different career professionals in industries of their choice.
| Table Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|
| Academic Investigator (domestic background) | Gwendalyn J. Randolph, Ph.D. Emil R. Unanue Professor, Pathology & Immunology, WashU |
| Academic Investigator (international background) | Aayushi Uberoi, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Pathology & Immunology, WashU |
| Academic Faculty Instructor | Skye Fishbein, Ph.D. Instructor, Pathology and Immunology, WashU Harshad Ingle, Ph.D. Instructor in Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, WashU |
| Career Coaching | Chuanmei (Mei) Zhu, Ph.D. Associate Director, Career and Professional Development for PhD and Postdoctoral Scholars, WashU Center for Career Engagement |
| Consulting | Tabbetha Bohac, Ph.D. Associate Director of Strategy, LINUS |
| Data Science | Vicky Tu, Ph.D. Senior Scientist – Behavior & Data Science Nestlé Purina North America |
| Entrepreneurship | Deepika Poranki, Ph.D. Business Development Director, WashU Office of Technology Management |
| Grant writing | Emily Madden, Ph.D. Scientific Grant Writer EpiCypher |
| Industry Research | Heidi Hope, Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow, Cell & Translational Lead Confluence Discovery Technologies |
| Non-profit | Lewis Wall, Ph.D. President of the Board, Dignity Period Catina O’Leary, Ph.D. President & CEO, Health Literacy Media |
| Public Scholarship | Kelly Smits Editorial Specialist, WashU Program in Public Scholarship |
| Research Communication | Monica Sala-Rabanal Science Communication Specialist, WashU Becker Medical Library |
Resource Fair
4:00-5:15pm | FLTC Atrium
Speak with representatives from various offices and organizations across campus and learn more about their work and services available to you.
- Bernard Becker Medical Library
- Clinical Research Training Center
- Center for Career Engagement
- The Center for Teaching & Learning
- Continuing and Professional Studies
- English Language Programs
- Family Care Resources
- InPrint
- Mentorship to Enhance Diversity in Academia
- MyWay to Health
- Move into Mindfulness
- Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Office of International Students and Scholars
- Office of Technology Management
- OutMED
- Postdoc Peer Mentorship Program
- Program for Public Scholarship
- Program in Physical Therapy
- UHC Nurse Advocates
- University Libraries
- Underrepresented in Medicine Affinity Group
- Women in STEM
- The Writing Center
- WashU MedMasters
- WashU Black Postdoctoral Association
- WashU Postdoc Society