Cornell University has recognized eight postdoctoral researchers for community engagement, leadership and mentoring, along with two faculty members who mentor postdocs, according to a university announcement.
The awards were presented at a Sept. 24 reception during National Postdoc Appreciation Week. Cornell added the faculty mentorship honor this year, with nominees put forward by postdoctoral scholars under their supervision and winners selected by the Cornell Postdoctoral Association.
The first faculty recipients are Paula Cohen, a genetics professor and associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Andreas Malikopoulos, a civil and environmental engineering professor who directs the Information and Decision Science Lab. Cohen also directs Cornell's Reproductive Sciences Center.
Cohen said postdocs have different career needs from graduate students and often need more focused career guidance and support. The new award recognizes the time faculty members spend helping them navigate that stage of research work.
Awards for service, leadership and mentoring
Peiwei Chen, a molecular biology and genetics fellow in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Megan Dias, a postdoctoral associate in the Brooks School of Public Policy, received awards for community engagement. That category recognizes work building postdoc communities or connecting Cornell outreach to public needs.
Chen said professional-development workshops had grown into a place where postdocs could connect and support one another. The award, Chen said, recognized an effort the group hopes will continue for future researchers at Cornell.
Leadership awards went to Janani Basuvappa in biomedical engineering, Ashish Kumar in animal science and Kwang-Won Park in chemical and biomolecular engineering. Cornell said the category recognizes initiative-driven leadership in academic, workplace or community settings. Park has served as a postdoctoral representative and as president of the Upstate New York Chapter of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association.
Rebecca Schmitt in biomedical and translational sciences, Inbal Ravreby in psychology and Charlotte Zimmerman in physics received postdoc mentoring awards. Their category recognizes support for others within Cornell or the surrounding community. Schmitt said helping students develop their curiosity and become independent thinkers is a rewarding part of research work.
Faculty, staff, graduate students and undergraduates could nominate and endorse postdocs in one or more award categories. Cynthia Leifer, director of Cornell's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, said the recognition reflects work postdocs do beyond their own research, including leading and mentoring others.
Research Slam held before the reception
Cornell also held its first Postdoc Research Slam immediately before the awards reception. Finalists had three minutes each to explain their research to an audience that included specialists outside their own fields.
Adeel Arshad, an animal science postdoc, won first prize for a presentation on whether cow microbes could help lower feeding costs. Irina Tolkova of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics was first runner-up. Meghan Beatty, also with the center and lab, was second runner-up. Basuvappa won the People's Choice Award.
A panel of four faculty members and a senior Cornell research officer selected the first prize and runner-up winners.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
