Symposium

The UC Santa Cruz Postdoc Symposium is an annual symposium dedicated to highlighting and celebrating work from early career researchers at UCSC. Faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates are welcome to attend but registration is required. Postdocs and graduate students are encouraged to present their research in a clear, concise manner that is accessible to a broad audience. Stay tuned for updates on the date and location!

We strongly encourage attendees to live tweet about presentations and your journey through the day using the hashtag #USPA2024 (we ask that you do not share specifics of data presented or of novel, unpublished findings.)

Nominate an Outstanding Postdoc or Mentor!

A big part of the symposium is honoring the amazing postdocs at UCSC. If you know a postdoc that demonstrates exceptional commitment to research, mentorships, and/or service, please nominate them for the Outstanding Postdoc Award.

We're also excited to announce a new award to honor the mentors that help postdocs grow and thrive, the Distinguished Postdoc Faculty Mentor Award.

Nominations for both awards are open until Friday, May 10, 2024 at 5pm PST.

Michael Beck, Ph.D.

Mike Beck is the Director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience & AXA Chair in Coastal Resilience at the University of California Santa Cruz. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and Pew Marine Conservation Fellow. He was Lead Marine Scientist at The Nature Conservancy for 20 years. He collaborates with many agencies and companies including the World Bank, US Army Corp, FEMA and all of the leading re-insurance firms. He has 100+ peer-reviewed scientific papers and numerous Op-eds.

Aparna Sreenivasan, Ph.D.

Dr. Sreenivasan is a Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Chair of the Department of
Biology and Chemistry, and Special Assistant to the Dean of the College of Science, at
California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). She holds a BS in Microbiology and
Immunology from UCLA, a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from UC
Santa Cruz, and a certificate in Science Communication from UC Santa Cruz. In addition to her
academic record, she has extensive research experience from her time as a postdoctoral fellow at
the University of California San Francisco, and Tularik Inc., a biotechnology firm now owned by
Amgen. She has held positions as a scientific analyst with the law firm Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann
and Bernstein LLP in San Francisco, and content science editor with CTB McGraw Hill in
Monterey. A freelance science writer since 2001, she has published articles in venues like
Science magazine, Natural History magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Dr. Sreenivasan helped launch the Biology program at CSUMB in 2009, and has served as CO-
PI for the NIH-IRACDA program with CSUMB and UCSC, the Western District Director of the
TRIBETA National Biological Society, is a long time Faculty Consensus Group member of the
CSUBIOTECH affinity group, and leads the Faculty Learning Program at CSUMB, among
others. She is passionate about Course Based Research Experiences (CURES) and has worked
with regional and national groups like the Genomics Education Partnership and CSUBIOTECH
to establish CURE courses at CSUMB and disseminate best practices across the CSU.

Welcome address (10-10:15AM)

Speaker (10:15-11:15 AM): Stefano Profumo Professor at UCSC in the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP); Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, Physical and Biological Sciences Division

Session 1: Trainee speakers (11:25-12:30) ~6 speakers

Lunch (12:30-1:30 PM)

Keynote Speaker (1:30-2:30 PM): Mike Beck Director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience - Highlighting careers geared to Policy professions that interact with governing bodies.

Session 2: Trainee speakers (2:40 PM-3:25 PM) ~8 speakers

Keynote speaker (4:15-5:15 PM): Aparna Sreenivasan Department Chair of Biology and Chemistry at CSUMB; IRACDA partner with UC Santa Cruz - Highlighting teaching careers at undergraduate teaching institutions.

Closing Ceremony and Evening Activities (5:10-7:00 PM)

Award ceremony presented by Don Smith, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs

Outstanding Postdoc awards
Distinguished Postdoc Faculty Mentor award

Poster Session