Duke's second annual Postdoctoberfest was even more successful than the first!
Unbelievably, in the midst of the worst drought on
record, it poured rain, but that didn’t stop postdocs, faculty and staff from
eating their way through over 400 hotdogs, supplemented by giant pretzels and,
of course, frosty mugs of beer.
Local favorites The Big Fat Gap Band delivered toe-tapping
bluegrass, and Maple View Farm
supplied vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and pumpkin pie ice cream.
Each postdoc received a Duke-blue messenger bag with a matching fleece blanket and
Postdoctoberfest frisbee (these came in handy as rain hats!)
The highlight of the party was the presentation of awards to two Outstanding Postdocs and one Outstanding Postdoc Mentor at Duke. Although there were only three winners, everyone who was nominated received a congratulatory letter from the Office of Postdoctoral Services and the Duke University Postdoctoral Association (DUPA).
Dr. Sally Kornbluth, Vice Dean for the Basic Sciences, presented the award for Outstanding Postdoc Mentor to Dr Joseph Nevins, Director of the Center for Applied Genomics & Technology in the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy. Dr Nevins was praised not only for his research successes, but for “having an open door policy, always making himself available on Saturdays, repeatedly helping to polish talks, tirelessly revising manuscripts, encouraging presentations at meetings, shielding postdocs from bureaucratic issues, and providing frantic rides to the airport in his sweet sports car.” Over 27 years, Dr Nevins has mentored over 60 postdocs, and virtually all have gone on to research positions at leading companies and universities including Tufts, Penn, Vanderbilt, and Merck. In an interdisciplinary center like IGSP, the variety of backgrounds and future career trajectories are endless, and Dr Nevins has worked carefully with each of his postdocs to prepare them for their unique careers.
Dr. Kornbluth presented the first
award for Outstanding Postdoc to 
Dr Tim
Griffin, a postdoc in the Orthopaedic
Bioengineering Laboratory of the Department of Surgery. Dr Griffin’s
mentor, Dr Farshid Guilak, wrote: “Tim
is the ‘walk-on-water’ type postdoc that we all dream of. His ability to learn
in multiple areas has made him a uniquely trained scientist with expertise in
subjects including physiology, biomechanics, bioengineering, and biological
anthropology. As a scientist, he has a balanced view of every question, and so
is able to reach conclusions through the data without any bias. He is able to
manage and direct a number of different projects at the same time, all
performed with the utmost care and precision. He is able to accomplish so much
because of his clear and organized way of thinking, but also because of his
ability to communicate and collaborate with others. He spends significant time
mentoring undergrads, med students, and junior post-docs in our group. Tim has
the characteristics of a true leader – he is exceptionally smart; he is
confident yet unassuming; he is an outstanding writer and speaker; and he is highly
ambitious. He is a team player who is always willing to help others and mentor
younger members of the lab.”
Dr. Kornbluth presented the
second award for Outstanding Postdoc to Dr. Siobhan Brady
from Dr Philip Benfey’s lab
in the Department of Biology. Her nomination read, “Dr Brady’s research in
transcription factor expression patterns has yielded innovative ways to
approach expression research. In all, her two years of research at Duke have
yielded six first author papers. Dr Brady currently has four collaborations
with laboratories in the United States and abroad, ranging from developmental
genetics to computational biology and bioinformatics. What is incredible about
Siobhan is that she accomplishes all of her research while managing
undergraduate independent research students and summer students. Within the
past two years, she has mentored six students, all of whom completed their
projects with posters, theses, or both. No matter how busy she is, she is
never too busy to stop and answer questions, always with a big smile. Siobhan
is not only active in the lab, but also in the community. She has volunteered
at Rogers-Herr Middle School, teaching genetics to seventh graders, and she
volunteers at marathons and races, including the Susan Komen Race for the
Cure.”
|
|
The faculty, administration, and staff of Duke University extend a hearty THANK YOU to all of our postdocs. We are proud to honor your achievements in research, mentoring, service, and teaching. You are an integral part of Duke University!