The Advocacy Subcommittee of CUPS serves as an open line of communication between the postdocs at Columbia and the University administration. We work with the subcommittees of the University Senate, including the Research Officers Committee, Housing Policy Committee and Commission on the Status of Women to help inform Columbia’s policy decisions. The Postdoctoral Senator is an active member of CUPS.
Our goal is to raise awareness of issues affecting postdocs at Columbia, such as well-being (report January 2018), housing and benefits, so that the University can implement policies that promote a healthy research community at Columbia. To do this, we need feedback from the community! Tell us what issues you would like the University to address! What policy changes would you like to see implemented? What bothers you? Would you like to get involved?
You can contact us by sending an email to [email protected].
Subcommittee Members
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Institute for Cancer Genetics
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, Dept Civil Eng & Eng Mechanics
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering; Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemical Engineering
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine, Columbia Center for Translational Immunology (CCTI)
I have been making stem cells from mouse skin in lab (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China) during my PhD. I tried to answer very basic but extremely important question, why only some transcription factors can do this job while others can’t (mainly Oct4 vs Oct6). I used genomic techniques like ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and spiced it up with bioinformatics analysis to nail down molecular details of how these transcription factors read the grammar of genome and execute the transcriptional program.
In my Post-Doc, I switched to human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and try to be closer to translational research. I have been working on multiple projects where I study the underlying mechanism of intrinsic immunity of hESCs against viral infections. My other project is focused to understand how sleep restriction would affect regeneration potential of hESCs.
I have a keen interest in bringing science to lay people. I have actively participated in yearly science communication programs like Science Slam Competition, Researchers Night etc. organized by EURAXESS, China. With CUPS, I plan to grow that interest further by participating in these events more frequently.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemical Engineering
Upasana Roy holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stony Brook University. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, where she studies how DNA damage is repaired. She uses microscopy techniques to visualize in real-time how DNA repair complexes are assembled and regulated. She is currently the vice-chair of the Research & Professional Development Committee at CUPS.
Trang Nguyen is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Dr. Markus Siegelin’s laboratory at the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology. Her work focuses on targeting tumor cell metabolism and the epigenome for brain tumor therapy. She graduated from KAIST, South Korea with her Ph.D. degree in Biological Sciences, and not long after worked in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland to identify novel signaling pathways and compounds contributing to resolution and recovery of lung injury for one and half years. Her current work at Columbia is focused on developing a rational therapeutic approach with improved central nervous system penetration to extend patient life expectancy.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dept Microbiology & Immunology
Student, College of Dental Medicine: Post-Graduate Dental
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Genetics and Development
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Neurology
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology
CUPS Research and Professional Development Alumni
Chemistry, Barnard College
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences
Sandra has a PhD in Neuroscience from UAB (Barcelona). She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University. Her research is focused on understanding the role of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum interactions in the pathophysiology of muscular dystrophy.
Sandra is the Co-Founder of the Outreach & Communications Committee (created Jan 1, 2019) and currently its Chair.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institute for Cancer Genetics
Sam completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Yale University and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain and the Department of Neurology. Her research focuses on using Positron Emission Tomography and other medical imaging technologies to elucidate the brain pathology in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease patients compared to Cognitively Normal subjects.
Sam is very interested in Science Outreach and Communication, and looks forward to building the skills it takes to be an effective science communicator in the Press Office of CUPS! In her free time, she enjoys baking, spending time with friends and family, and is an avid Yankee fan!
Rashmi Voleti is a postdoc in the Chemistry Department in Dr. Neel Shah's lab. Rashmi grew up in Hyderabad, India. Fascinated by proteins and wanting to learn more about protein structure and function, she decided to move to UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Texas for graduate school. She did her Ph.D. in Jose Rizo’s lab where she used various biophysical methods to study proteins involved in neurotransmitter release. In the Shah lab, she is interested in exploring phosphotyrosine signaling in immune cells. When she is not in lab, Rashmi enjoys cooking Indian food, trying out new restaurants, volunteering, yoga and indoor rock climbing among other things.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine, Dept of Medicine Cardiology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology
Obtained BS (2008) and MA (2010) from the University at Buffalo and PhD (2015) from University of Florida.
Currently Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Dept of Pathology&Cell Biology.
The Columbia University Postdoctoral Senator - the Columbia postdoctoral community is welcome to contact by email with any issues related to their professional experience. Any communications are confidential.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dept of Biological Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Systems Biology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine
Nicole (Nicki) Perry Hauser is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Javitch Lab at the Department of Psychiatry. She organizes and hosts the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bookclub as part of the Advocacy Committee of CUPS.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience
The editor-at-large and chairman of the CUPS newsletter
Molly Scott was a postdoctoral research scholar in the NEED Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University working with Dr. Kim Noble. She received her PhD in developmental psychology at Temple University working with Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. In the NEED Lab, she worked on the Baby's First Years project, studying the connection between income and young children's development. Molly is passionate about translating developmental science for parents, teachers, policy makers, and other stakeholders.
Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
Martina is an EMBO awardee postdoctoral research fellow at the Zuckerman Institute in the lab of Prof. Franck Polleux where she studies the contribution of human-specific gene duplications in the evolution of the human brain.
In addition to her academic achievements, she is an advocate of equitable access to educational resources which she demonstrated through her commitment to mentorship and science outreach activities. She organized workshops to foster public enthusiasm for neuroscience research in the context of the Brain Awareness Week and she is actively seeking opportunities to engage with students to offer supervision and mentorship, including her latest contribution as a mentor in the BRAINYAC program. As chair of the Outreach and Communication Committee of CUPS, Martina aspires to build bridges between scientists of various disciplines and facilitate their engagement with the general public.Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Dept of Pathology&Cell Biology
Marie holds a PhD in Neuroscience from ETH Zurich (Switzerland). She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University in the Department of Psychiatry. In her work she uses in vivo methods and genetic tools to understand the neural circuits that regulate motor function.
Marie is also the Co-Founder and former member (& Chair; 2019) of the Outreach & Communications Committee (created Jan 1, 2019). She was the Founder and Editorial Manager of the CUPS Blog now run by the Outreach&Comms Committee. During her time in the O&C Committee, her top goal was to develop & expand some of its sections: Meet our Postdocs, Science Stories and Event Highlights as well as to engage in Outreach activities across NYC.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Taub Institute
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology
Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Dermatology
Lecturer in the Discipline of Biological Science
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
After finishing her PhD in the Netherlands, Maaike Schilperoort joined the Tabas laboratory at the Department of Medicine of CUMC as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist. Her research focuses on mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic regulation of macrophages in the context of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Aside from being in the lab, she enjoys sports (fitness training, hiking, and biking), eating breakfast, and listening to podcasts.
As co-chair of the Outreach and Communication Committee of CUPS, Maaike aspires to build bridges between scientists of various disciplines and facilitate their engagement with the general public.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Systems Biology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physics
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Radiation Oncology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute
Associate Research Scientist in the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering
Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in the Taub Institute
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Neurology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering; Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dept of Biomedical Engineering
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Dept Biochemistry/MolBiophyscs
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Systems Biology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Medical Center
After obtaining the PhD in pharmacology at the University Clinic of Bonn (Germany), I joined Columbia University in January 2021 to study neuronal mechanisms of food intake in the Institute of Human Nutrition. Here I met other amazing postdocs actively involved in CUPS, so I decided to join this great team as secretary.
In my free time I love to play board games, pen-and-paper RPG, and videogames, knit, complain about NY pizza, and volunteer for a cat rescue association.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Systems Biology, Department of Systems Biology
Dhru obtained a PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX. Currently he is an Associate Research Scientist at the Department of Biomedical Engineering where he studies the effect of bacterial toxins on lung cancer.
Within CUPS, Dhru serves as the chair of Research and Professional Development committee and as the section manager for the Art & Humanities on CUPS blog as part of the Outreach and Communication committee.CUPS Research and Professional Development Alumni
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Neurology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and cell Biology
Chloé Pasin is a Postdoctoral Reseach Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University. Her research focuses on identifying immunologic factors associated with the evolution of the clinical state of a patient after hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
Chloé is a member of the Outreach & Communications Committee and hopes to help improving women’s representation in STEM fields.
I'm working in neuroendocrinology at CUMC. During the day, I study eating disorders in mice. Being a postdoc often feels lonely, so after some time just talking to my mice, I decided to be part of some more human community and joined CUPS. I got to meet great people with fascinating life experience and supportive advice. I am pleased to take the lead of our society for the next year, and cannot wait to welcome all your eccentric and brilliant ideas to build a friendly and rich environment in Columbia. Looking forward to meeting you soon.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Dept of Pathology&Cell Biology
Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Carlos B. Rueda Diez holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and a M.Sc. in Molecular Biomedicine from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain). He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Neurology at Columbia University, New York.
His research is focused on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of Glut1 deficiency, a pediatric neurodegenerative disease. His research interests are mitochondria, neurobiology and metabolism. Carlos is involved in STEM teaching and volunteers for educative purposes and is also interested in scientific divulgation, in order to bring research advances to public awareness.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Dermatology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Neurology, Department of Neurology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Chemistry
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Dental Medicine
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology
Anderson SH Chu (HK) earned his Ph.D. degree from The University of Hong Kong (HK), and was trained by University of Cambridge (UK) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) prior to joining Columbia University (USA).
Anderson’s research interests in cement and concrete science revolve around: Low carbon materials, resilient structures and functional design. Specifically, he is recovering low carbon cement from oceanic and waste resources, and use it for carbon capture, utilization and storage, and data-driven design of functional composite materials. By probing into green cement chemistry and particle packing theory, Anderson designed bio-inspired self-prestressed concrete and infilled cementitious composites, in the realm of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) clusters, and also adds functions of microbial self-healing and underwater additive manufacturing. According to Stanford University, Anderson is ranked into world’s top 2% Scientists (2022). With an h-index of 28 (2023), his research has been widely published in renowned journals e.g., ACI, CCR, CCC, ES, CS, AM, CBM, Desalination.
Anderson’s dedication to advancing science and services extends beyond his own research. Anderson actively contributes to the academic community by serving as a reviewer for more than 40 journals and an academic editor for Advances in Civil Engineering and Frontier in Materials. He mentored over 60 students and established extensive domestic and international collaborations. He is an Aff.M. ASCE and member of ACI involved in committees 239 and 544. Benefit from industrial working experiences, Anderson is involved in a number of mega-projects in practice and holds IP rights for several core technologies. Anderson is appointed as a ROC Member of Columbia University Senate (2023 onwards). He has been involved in CUPS and chairs
Advocacy. Additionally, at Columbia University, Dr. Chu leads two funded projects as the PI, focusing on the scaling-up production, functional design and practical applications of low carbon cement.For more information: Google Scholar, Columbia hub, Website
After completing my PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Bordeaux (France), I joined Columbia University as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in April 2022. At the Department of Neurology, I am studying the relationship of lifestyle factors with brain health and aging, using data from well established population cohorts.
Upon my arrival in NYC, I quickly participated to CUPS events as a way to meet new people in this big city. And soon after join the team as the Social Media Manager.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry
Alban was trained as medical geneticist in France with a special interest in birth defect, hereditary hearing loss, autism spectrum disorder and exome sequencing. His research experience focused on monogenic diseases but also include oligogenic inheritance. He is a research associate in the Chung lab. He works on characterizing the natural history of several rare genetic disorders.
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine
Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Chemistry