BSD Postdocs Drs. Sam Yee and Kathryn Sanchez attend the 2025 NPA Conference in Boston, MA.
Dr. Samantha Yee presents a poster outlining the BSD Postdoc Credential Courses and their outcomes.
Dr. Samantha Yee, BSD Postdoc and Co-President of the PDA, received a travel award from the National Postdoc Association as well as a BSD Postdoc “CAP” travel award to attend and present at the recent NPA Conference held in Boston, MA in March 2025. Here is summary of Sam’s conference experience:
It was my first time attending the Annual National Postdoctoral Conference, and I had an invaluable experience in Boston with the National Postdoctoral Association community. I presented a poster during the conference’s poster session titled, “Mentoring for the Future through Postdoc DEI and Mentor Training Certificate Courses.” The poster allowed me to discuss the annual credential/certificate courses that our BSD Postdoc Office organizes for postdocs at UChicago, particularly for mentoring and DEI training. There were several individuals who stopped by our poster. They were very curious to see what we were doing and expressed interest in reading our manuscript on the long-term outcomes of these courses once it is published. Some individuals mentioned that they do not currently have such opportunities for postdocs at their institutions and inquired whether they could enroll in our trainings as external postdocs. Unfortunately, the courses are currently only open to University of Chicago postdocs. At the conference, I attended sessions focused on mentoring, i.e., reverse mentoring and mentor career programs, in addition to how to ease the experience/transition of international postdocs as they begin their career. I learned a handful of tips and tricks that could better our postdoc community at UChicago. For networking, I met a wide range of individuals, including those who serve on the NPA Advocacy Committee, those who support the PDA at their institutions (PDOs), fellow postdocs, and individuals who came from overseas to better the postdoc community in terms of career/professional development. Overall, I was able to generate ideas on how to better the postdoc community at UChicago and will see what is feasible to implement before I leave UChicago in terms of a legacy/legacies. It was refreshing to meet like-minded and kind-hearted individuals who want to help postdocs be seen, heard, and appreciated as they work towards the next stage of their careers.
By:
Samantha Yee, PhD
NCI K00 Postdoctoral Fellow
Hernandez Laboratory, University of Chicago
Email: yees@uchicago.edu
pronouns (she/her/hers)