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