We are excited to announce that we are hosting a catered Post-Doctoral panel February 9th @ 6:00PM in USB 2244. Post-Docs from over five different departments will be attending the dinner and will be open to questions and advice (participants are shown below). All UM affiliates are welcome to come, ask questions, receive advice, and network!If you have any questions, feel free to check out our Facebook Page (AWiS-UM) for updates.
RSVP Here:https://goo.gl/forms/HumxYgAr96gEp44i1 AWIS Post-Doc Panel 2/9/17 Current Participants:Dr. Courtney Roberts:PhD in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillI graduated from UNC last August with my PhD in chemistry. While in graduate school, I developed new catalysts for carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. At UNC I served on the board of UNC WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) for two years. During my tenure on the board, I helped to organize a day-long summit on women in science, a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon to create visibility for women in STEM, and a monthly discussion meeting where we created a safe space to discuss topics such as intersectionality, microagression, and mentoring. I started my postdoc in September in the lab of Prof. Melanie Sanford and joined UM AWIS (Association for Women in Science) shortly after. I plan on pursuing a career in academia after my postdoc is finished.Dr. Jennifer Lachoweic:PhD in Genome Sciences from the University of Washington, SeattleJen joined the Wittkopp lab in October 2014 after completing her PhD under the guidance of Christine Queitsch at the University of Washington, Seattle, during which she studied molecular mechanisms that control robustness to genetic perturbations and noise. Her projects in the Wittkopp lab will examine the evolution of gene expression using flies as a model.Dr. Andrea Hodgins-Davis:PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale UniversityAndrea joined the Wittkopp lab in May 2014 after completing her PhD at Yale University, where she worked with Jeff Townsend in the Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology combining empirical and theoretical approaches to study the evolution of genome-wide gene expression in budding yeast across an environmental gradient. In the Wittkopp lab, Andrea will study the evolvability of gene expression in yeast.Dr. Jessica Anand:PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of MichiganMy name is Jess Anand, my work focuses developing mixed efficacy opioid ligands as a means of making safer more effective analgesics.I am currently a postdoc in the Pharmacology lab, but started my career as a medicinal chemist. I have followed my project from design and synthesis of novel opioid compound through in vitro characterization, and am currently working on pre-clinical in vivo experiments with the same compounds. I feel that work/life balance is important and spend a lot of my free time gardening, cooking, playing with my dog, and eating good food with my spouse.Dr. Kendra Murray:PhD in Geosciences from the University of Arizona: "Interpreting low-temperature thermochronology in magmatic terranes: Modeling and case studies from the Colorado Plateau"I am a geologist who uses the chemistry of rocks to study the processes that build and shape mountain ranges in deep time. I moved to Michigan in the summer of 2016—a return to the northern tier of the US after 8 sunny years in southern Arizona during graduate school. I'm looking for a faculty job in academia, preferably at a liberal arts college, but am considering alternative career paths as a part of navigating the job market.Dr. Nicole BellefontainePhD in Neuroscience, University of Lille2 (France)Currently 4th year research fellow in the Molecular and Integrative Physiology Department. I am interested in how metabolism controls puberty and fertility in mammals. I study these processes by examining molecular and genetic pathways within specific areas of the brain known to govern both metabolism and reproduction. I took a convoluted route to get here, I did my undergraduate degree in psychology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, my Master's degree in psychology at Concordia University in Montreal, my PhD in neuroscience at the University of Lille 2 in France, and now I'm currently a senior postdoctoral fellow in the physiology department.Dr. Aqila AhmedPhD from Wayne State UniversityI studied role of DNA repair in aging phenotype of Down syndrome in Diane Cableof lab at Wayne State. I’m currently working on Notch signaling in prostate cancer in Evan Keller lab. I hope to share the journey of a single parent in science and talk about pros and cons of a career in science for those with children . I had a great mentor who understood my situation and pushed me to continue even when i felt like giving up. I grew up in Detroit and would like to help in bringing in more girls from underserved areas into STEM.Dr. Tammy BarnesPhD from Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, Department of Internal Medicine.Dr. Barnes has just begun her third year working in Martin Myers’ laboratory studying novel facets of leptin signaling in the brain. Dr. Barnes also serves as Assistant Director for the Diabetes Research Center’s Molecular Genomics Core and works to generate novel mouse models for investigators affiliated with the DRC.