Postdoctoral Research Symposium
The Jefferson Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in collaboration with the Jefferson Postdoctoral Association (JPA) hosted the 18th Postdoctoral Research Symposium (PRS) on September 19, 2024.
2024 Keynote Speaker: Shruti Naik, PhD
Keynote title: Immune-mediated mechanisms of tissue adaptation and maladaption.
Shruti Naik, PhD, is an international leader in immunology and tissue stem cell biology. She is an Associate Professor in Immunology and Dermatology and the Director of the Tissue Repair Program at Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai.
Dr. Naik's research uses advanced technologies to study how immune cells communicate with tissues, aiming to develop therapies that stop inflammatory damage and rejuvenate organs at the cellular and molecular levels. She has made groundbreaking discoveries on the microbiota's role in immunity, epigenetic memory in stem cells, and the mechanisms of immune-tissue interactions.
2024 PRS Award Winners
Outstanding Research In-Depth Presentation - Dr. Marilen Frederico, from the laboratory of Dr. Shey-Shing Sheu
Outstanding Research Lightning Presentation - Dr. Joice Thomas Gavali, from the laboratory of Dr. Jianxin Sun
Outstanding Poster Presentations - Dr. Lakhikumar Sharma Adhikarimayum, from the laboratory of Dr. Mudit Tyagi; Dr. Arun Kumar Jannu, from the laboratory of Dr. Raymond Penn, Dr. Sarah Bond Newton, from the laboratory of Dr. Aaron Haeusler; Dr. Victor Hugo Sanchez-Vazquez, from the laboratory of Dr. Gyorgy Hajnoczky; Dr. Emily Wakschal, from the office of Dr. C. Virginia O'Hayer
Outstanding Early Discoveries Poster Presentation - Dr. Deepu Dowarha, from the laboratory of Dr. Zheng Ruan; Dr. Sowmya Shree Gopal, from the laboratory of Dr. Amit Srivastava
Front left-right: Drs. Lisa Kozlowski, Sowmya Shree Gopal, Arun Kumar Jannu, Shruti Naik, Deepak Deshpande, Joice Thomas Gavali, Lakhikumar Sharma Adhikarimayum, Zheng Ruan. Back left-right: Drs. Emily Wakschal, Sarah Bond Newton, Victor Hugo Sanchez-Vazquez, Marilen Federico, Deepu Dowarha
PRS 2024 Committee Members: Benjamin Cartes-Saavedra, PhD; Shamaila Zafar, PharmD, PhD; Lisa Kozlowski, PhD; Chazmyn Riley, PhD; Casey Stefanski, PhD; Dawn Berkbigler, PMP; Elham Javed, PhD
Distinguished Mentor Award Winner
The Distinguished Mentor Award (DMA) recognizes Thomas Jefferson University faculty members who excel in mentoring postdoctral fellows. This award is presented at the PRS Awards Ceremony.
DMA Winner—Dr. Deepak Deshpande (2024)
2023 - Dr. Garret FitzGerald, University of Pennsylvania
2022 - Dr. Nicola Allen, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
2021 - Dr. Treena Livingston Arinzeh, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
2020 - Dr. Lance A. Liotta, George Mason University
2019 - Dr. Sarah Miller, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
2018 - Dr. Katherine High, Spark Therapeutics
2017 - Dr. William Kaelin, Harvard Medical School
2015 - Dr. Dennis Discher, University of Pennsylvania
2014 - Dr. Elaine Fuchs, Rockefeller University
2013 - Dr. Jonathan Yewdell, NIAID, NIH
2012 - Dr. Scott Kern, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
2011 - Dr. Sharon Milgram, NIH
2010 - Dr. Keith Yamamoto, University of California, San Francisco
2009 - Dr. Carol Prives, Columbia University
2008 - Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, Duke University
2007 - Dr. Kenneth Fischbeck, NINDS, NIH
2006 - Dr. Christopher Austin, Chemical Genomics Center, NIH