Postdoctoral Research Showcase Highlights Innovation and Collaboration

Jasmine Plummer, PhD, founding director of the Center for Spatial Omics and associate professor at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, spoke at the recent Postdoctoral Research Showcase.

"Our postdoctoral scholars are not just trainees-they are the research leaders of tomorrow," Jessica Snowden, MD, vice chancellor for Research at UT Health Science Center, said at the recent 18th-Annual Postdoctoral Research Showcase.

Hosted by the UT Health Science Center Postdoctoral Association (PhDA) on January 22, the showcase brought together faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students for a full day dedicated to cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Held at the Student-Alumni Center on the Memphis campus, the Winter 2025/26 showcase spotlighted the breadth and impact of research conducted by UT Health Sciences postdoctoral scholars across a wide range of biomedical disciplines.

"Events like the Postdoctoral Research Showcase highlight the creativity, rigor, and collaborative spirit that drive discovery forward," Dr. Snowden said. "Congratulations to our postdoctoral association leaders, Dr. (Monica) Jablonski, and all of the scholars and mentors who made the day a success."

The showcase featured a keynote address by Jasmine Plummer, PhD, founding director of the Center for Spatial Omics and associate professor at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Her talk, "A Postdoc's Strategy for Finding and Securing External (Non-Federal) Funding," addressed timely and critical issues in today's challenging funding landscape.

Dr. Plummer emphasized the importance of diversifying funding sources to reduce reliance on increasingly competitive federal paylines, highlighted how foundation and philanthropic awards can support high-risk, high-reward research that may fall outside traditional federal priorities, and discussed the role of prestigious non-federal awards as powerful markers of research independence and career advancement.

Postdoctoral researchers gave six poster presentations and 11 podium presentations illustrating the breadth of research being done at UT Health Sciences. Pictured with attendees and presenters are, Vice Chancellor of Research Jessica Snowden, far left, and Monica Jablonski, associate dean of the Postdoctoral Office, fifth from right.

Throughout the day, attendees engaged with postdoctoral researchers during six poster presentations and 11 ten-minute podium presentations showcasing current research projects. Topics spanned basic, translational, and clinical science, reflecting the diversity of research at UT Health Sciences. Presentations explored areas such as novel therapies for diabetic retinopathy, obesity-associated breast cancer, and polymicrobial infections; advances in cancer genomics and immunometabolism; innovative drug-delivery technologies; aging and kidney rejuvenation; and new computational approaches to pediatric speech and language mapping.

"Our PhDA Steering Committee officers did an outstanding job organizing and hosting this year's Postdoctoral Research Showcase," said Dr. Jablonski, associate dean of the Postdoctoral Office. "It's a privilege to mentor our postdoc leaders and guide them as they hone their leadership skills."

The showcase concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding presentations:

Podium Presentation Awards

• First Place: Doaa Maria, Ophthalmology Department (Mentor: Monica Jablonski)
• Second Place: Lynn Aung, Physiology Department (Mentor: Zhonghie Sun)
• Third Place: Sandesh Marathe, Medicine, Hematology and Oncology Department (Mentor: Liza Makowski)

Poster Presentation Awards

• First Place: Harsh Dubey, Preventive Medicine Department (Mentor: Saunak Sen)
• Second Place: Abdul Majid, Physiology Department (Mentor: Djamel Leech)
• Third Place: Qian Ge, Anatomy and Neurobiology Department (Mentor: Jianyang Du)

Travel Awards

• First Place: Radha Kodak, Pediatrics Department (Mentor: Shalini Narayana)
• Second Place: Sandesh Marathe, Medicine, Hematology and Oncology Department (Mentor: Liza Makowski)
• Third Place: Naveed Pervaiz, Medicine, Hematology and Oncology Department (Mentor: Liza Makowski)

In addition to celebrating research excellence, the event marked the introduction of new leadership for the Postdoctoral Association. The association, a self-sustaining organization that provides a collective voice for postdoctoral scholars and supports their integration into the UT Health Sciences community, announced the following officers:

New Officers

• Co-Presidents: Waseem Chauhan and Lynn Aung
• Secretary: Naveed Pervaiz
• Steering Committee Members: Mikhail Tiumentsev and Marzie Amirshenava