Group photo of YPA members at the 2022 YPA Symposium on the YSB terrace

Annual Postdoc Symposium

Each year, the symposium is held towards the end of the spring semester. 

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Attend the 8th Annual Postdoc Symposium!

8th Annual Yale Postdoc Symposium

Join us on Friday, June 6th in OC Marsh Lecture Hall in the Yale Science Building at 260 Whitney Ave.

Come out and show support for your colleagues’ research. Network with fellow postdocs, ARS, and invited industry exhibitors. Attend the panel discussion on transitioning from academia to industry, featuring three invited industry speakers from Novartis, Regeneron, and Bristol Myers Squibb! If you’re feeling shy or unable to attend in-person but still have a question for the panelists, submit it here and we’ll ask on your behalf [https://cglink.me/2dA/s95836]. The keynote speaker will be Naftali Kaminski, MD, the Boehringer-Ingelheim Endowed Professor of Internal Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Registration is still open.

This symposium is an excellent opportunity for professional development and networking within the Yale community.

The goals of this event are for you to:

  • Communicate your research
  • Explore the diversity of postdoctoral research performed at Yale
  • Connect with other postdocs

For inquiries, please e-mail us at  ypa.symposium@yale.edu.

8th Yale Postdoc Symposium Program 

8:00 – 8:30 AM Registration & Breakfast 
8:30 – 8:45 AM

Opening Ceremony

Chairs: Jacob Orkwis and Adati Tarfa
8:45 – 9:15 AM 

Session 1 Presentations

Chair:  Gizem Nur Sahin Kayabolen
9:15 – 9:45 AM

Session 2 Presentations

Chair:  Jon Bell
9:45 – 10:15 AM Coffee Break
10:15 – 11:20 AM

Session 3 Presentations

Chair: Chetna Dhembla
11:20 – 12:00 PM

Session 4 Presentations

Chair: Nebal Abu Hussein
12:00 – 2:00 PM Lunch & Poster Session
2:00 – 3:00 PM

Session 5 Presentations

Chair: Cameron Gardner
3:00 – 3:30 PM Title IX Fireside Chat & Coffee Break
3:30 – 5:00 PM

Panel: The Pivot: Stories of transition from academia to industry

Moderator: Montrell Seay, PhD, Senior Associate Director of STEM Employer Relations, Office of Career Strategy (OCS)  
5:00 – 6:00 PM

Keynote Address: Don’t panic and always carry a towel - lessons from my accidental career

Speaker: Naftali Kaminski, MD (Section Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Yale School of Medicine)

Session Hosts: Jacob Orkwis, Adati Tarfa
6:00 – 6:30 PM

Cultural Performances

Session Host: Dilpreet Kour

“Pearls & Jade Within: A Vocal Odyssey of Science, Art & Self Discovery” by Haoyang Wei

“Mysterious waves: the sound that changes you” by Sajad Nezhadian

“An unplugged Sufi-Rock Rendition” by Shubham Misra

“Swungover with Yale Swing, Blues & Fusion (YBSF)” by YBSF 

“Fragments of a Familiar Tune” by Namrata Sethi

“Tangled in Tango” by Tiffany Chang & Michelle Wong
6:30 – 7:15 PM Reception: Awards and Closing Remarks
7:30 PM After-party at Gryphon’s Pub

The 2025 Yale Postdoctoral Symposium was organized by: 

Jacob Orkwis, PhD (Co-coordinator YPA 2025 symposium committee)

Adati Tarfa, PharmD, MS, PhD (Co-coordinator YPA 2025 symposium committee)

Anubha Seth, PhD (Events sub-committee leader)

Danielle Sohai, PhD (Judging sub-committee leader)

Eunate Gallardo, PhD (Scheduling sub-committee leader)

Nicole Demarais, MD (Communications sub-committee co-lead)

Adina MacMahon Copas, PhD (Communications sub-committee co-lead)

Other Members: Dilpreet Kour PhD, Nebal Abu Hussein PhD, Tommaso Volpi PhD, Cameron Gardner PhD, Adina MacMahon Copas PhD, Gizem Nur Sahin Kayabolen PhD, Jon Bell PhD, Jamison Leid PhD, Jiayi Xu PhD, Parvaneh Rastgou PhD, Chetna Dhembla, PhD.

The committee also thanks our abstract and poster judges for their invaluable contributions to this programming. 

Abstract titles for talk sessions can be viewed below. 

We hope you enjoy the symposium! 

Session Chair: Gizem Nur Sahin Kayabolen

Time

Presenter

Abstract Title

8:45

 Aliksandr Kishchanka Analyzing Yale University Reproductive Sciences Biobank Data vs. the General Population: Identifying Gaps and Advancing Equitable Representation

8:50

 Sheila Nagamatsu Association of PTSD Symptom Trajectories with Accelerated Pace of Epigenetic Aging in U.S. Military Veterans

8:55

 Jennifer Park Brain-based prediction of gaming disorder in adolescents

9:00

 Luis Mestre Increasing Trends of Polysubstance Use among Lesbian and Bisexual US Female Adults

9:05

 Caroline Muiler Barbosa Nogueira Role of CFTR in SGK1 and stress-induced signaling in mouse intestine

Session Chair: Jon Bell

Time

Presenter

Abstract Title
9:15 Shubham Misra Cross-platform proteomics and machine learning algorithms nominate biomarkers of stroke diagnosis
9:25 Dilpreet Kour A Comparative Analysis of Protein Interactors of Kv1.3 in Microglia and T-Cells: Implications for Neurodegenerative and Autoimmune Diseases 
9:35 Bruno Batinica Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Cardiovascular Disease Prediction Using Electrocardiogram Images

Session Chair: Chetna Dhembla 

Time Presenter Abstract Title
10:15 Kelli Connolly Impact of LKB1 co-mutation in lung cancer on the functionality of antitumor T cells
10:25 Cem Demirkiran Preclinical efficacy of the estrogen receptor degrader fulvestrant in combination with RAF/MEK clamp avutometinib and FAK inhibitor in low-grade serous ovarian cancer with acquired resistance to chemotherapy and aromatase Inhibitor
10:35 Eman Salih Access to Chronic Non-Communicable Disease Medications During Wartime in Sudan
10:45 José Martínez-Magaña Dissecting the ancestry-specific genetic architecture of alcohol consumption in Latin American Individuals 
10:55 Afsheen Nasir Sex-Based Disparities in Thoracic Aortic Disease
11:05 Nebal Abu Hussein Molecular Networks in Silicosis: Transcriptomics Analysis in Exposure driven Pulmonary Fibrosis

Session Chair: Nebal Abu Hussein

Time Presenter Abstract Title
11:20 Rizwana Afroz Endothelial-specific LRP5 deletion mitigates atherosclerosis
11:25 Michele D’Agata Adoptive Transfer of Preeclampsia-Exposed T Cells Increases Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness Without Microvascular Alterations Following Repeated Hypertensive Stimuli in Female Mice
11:30 Johnathan Hoggarth A Simple Method for Generating Droplets on a Vibrating Liquid Bath
11:35 Pratap Vydyam Tick-Tock: Tafenoquine vs. Malaria and Babesiosis
11:40 Chetna Dhembla Insights into the nuclear import of 26S proteasomes using a nuclear pore complex (NPC) mimic system
11:45 Sumon Sarkar Collective intelligence of specialized language models guides de novo chemical synthesis

Session Chair: Cameron Gardner

Time Presenter Abstract Title
2:00 Tiantian Gong Disincentivize Collusion in Verifiable Secret Sharing
2:10 Henrique Oliva Sleep Alterations in Opioid Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 
2:20 Ling Xu Molecular insights into de novo small molecule recognition by an intron RNA structure
2:30 Peng Xu NAT10 drives brain metastasis by regulating the serine synthesis pathway
2:40 Mark Williams  Larp1 supports brain growth and spatial memory through post-transcriptional control of the translation machinery
2:50 Yaru Xu Genome-wide CRISPRi Screen Identifies lncRNA CRNDE as a regulator of Lineage Plasticity in Prostate Cancer 

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Check out the previous symposiums