UC Davis Graduate Studies is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022-23 Postdoctoral Research Excellence Awards. The winners were announced at the 8th annual Postdoctoral Scholars Research Symposium on March 17.

• Nicholas Burnett, Ph.D.
• Jennifer Mogannam, Ph.D.
• Hugo Fernando Monteiro, Ph.D.
• Shruti Paranjape, Ph.D.
• Rebeca Scalco, DVM
• Gina Sideli, Ph.D.

The postdoctoral scholars were selected based on their outstanding research accomplishments as well as their commitment to diversity and inclusion, mentorship, service and/or public scholarship. Award recipients will receive $500 to assist in their continued professional development.

“The pool of applicants for the Awards was absolutely stellar, representing the richness that our postdoctoral scholars bring to UC Davis, across disciplines and experience levels,” said Nicole Rabaud, Executive Director of Student and Postdoctoral Support. “Congratulations to our awardees for their fantastic work in research and beyond!”

 

2022-23 Excellence in Postdoctoral Research Award Recipients

 

Nicholas Burnett, Ph.D.
Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior
College of Biological Sciences

Burnett has been a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior for five years. While his research pertains to the eco-mechanics of kelp, his nominator lauded his pursuit of “novel, cross-disciplinary research. In addition to numerous publications and presentations, Burnett has mentored six undergraduate UC Davis students and published three research papers in high-profile scientific journals related to diversity, equity and inclusion issues in biology. For his efforts, he was awarded two years of postdoctoral funding from NSF to research equity issues surrounding interview procedures for postdoctoral positions.

“Of all the postdocs I have mentored, Nick ranks at the very top in terms of his research breadth and productivity, not to mention his commitment to research on DEI issues in biology,” said Professor Stacey Combes.

 

Jennifer Mogannam, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology, College of Letters and Sciences

Mogannam, who is also a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Anthropology, has been a postdoctoral fellow at UC Davis since 2021. Mogannam began her fellowship with a research trip to Jordan where she conducted archival and interview-based research in Arabic. From this research she has completed numerous publications and presentations, in addition to a nearly completed book manuscript. In the summer of 2021, she a founded the Palestinian Feminist Junior Scholars writing group and has been invited to represent UC Davis postdoctoral scholars at numerous UC events.

“Dr. Mogannam’s work is exemplary in that it intervenes in documenting and analyzing questions of Arab anti-colonial struggle, revolution, and anti-imperialist movements with a commitment to the people actively engaged in those struggles and their path to freedom, while also offering a feminist analysis and gendered critique of such movements for the purposes of expanding the scope of what revolution looks like and what was missing that could have shifted revolutionary outcomes,” said Distinguished Research Professor Suad Joseph.

 

Hugo Fernando Monteiro, Ph.D.
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine

Monteiro, who was noted for his “dazzling ability to focus and resolve complex endeavors” by his nominator, has been a postdoctoral fellow at UC Davis for two years. His research focus is to explore the integration of the latest artificial intelligence with gut microbiome high-throughput data to considerably improve farm sustainability. This work was published in Scientific Reports and won best Oral Presentation at the 7th Annual UC Davis Postdoctoral Research Symposium. Presently, he is leading a study in collaboration with several universities in the U.S. and Canada that is focused on demonstrating the importance of the gut microbiome of cows to production, reproduction, and health parameters.

“Dr. Monteiro has become our go-to person to inquire about microbiome analysis…is very polite and goes out of his way to ensure everyone is included and feels welcome in our inner circles,” said Assistant Professor Fabio Lima. “I wholeheartedly, unreservedly, and enthusiastically recommend Hugo Monteiro for the 2023 Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Research at UC Davis.”

 

Shruti Paranjape, Ph.D.
Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Letters and Sciences

Paranjape, who is a 2022-2023 UC Davis Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow, has been a postdoctoral fellow at UC Davis for two years. She works on understanding fundamental interactions using on-shell scattering amplitude techniques. Her recent focus is on using these methods to explore the relationship between massive gravity models and super symmetry.  Because of her important contributions to the subject, she has been a frequent speaker at major conferences, workshops and seminars. In last year she has been an invited speaker at ETH Zurich, Uppsala University, UCLA, Charles University in Prague. Shruti is an active member of the Fields, Strings, and Gravity research group, and is a founding member of the Theory Girls Podcast.

“Dr. Paranjape is an excellent postdoc working at the UC Davis QMAP center focusing on the high energy physics,” said Professor Jaroslav Trnka. “She has already made fundamental contributions to the subject of scattering amplitudes and is on the raising trajectory to continue very successfully in academia.”

 

Rebeca Scalco, DVM
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine

Scalco has been a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Veterinary medicine for the past three years. Her research has made a significant impact in the academic and research communities, both in the field of Veterinary Medicine, as well as neuropathology. During her time as a postdoctoral fellow, Scalco has been published in top-tier academic journals, and presented abstracts and lectures. She is currently spearheading another multi-site project (involving UCSD and Columbia University) to understand the heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s Disease in Hispanic persons.

“Dr. Scalco has a gift for explaining complex scientific concepts in a way that is both accessible and engaging,” said Associate Professor Brittany N. Dugger. “She has a track record of dedication to mentoring and developing the next generation of researchers in a truly inspiring way.”

 

Gina Sideli, Ph.D.
Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Sideli has been a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis for more than three years, during which time she has developed an expertise on recent advances in the areas of genomics and metabolomics as it relates to almonds. She has published original peer reviewed articles, one review paper and one book chapter.  At the same time, she has personally built an extensive collaborative network with universities throughout the U.S. and internationally (including Australia, Spain, France and Italy) and the private sector, including Hershey, Mars, Blue Diamond, the Almond Board of California as well as growers and processors. Within UC Davis, she has built a multi-disciplinary team of collaborators including chemists, physiologists, nematologists, and agricultural engineers.

“In the 20 years that I have been a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis…Dr. Sideli stands out as among the very best, based on her excellent communication skills, maturity, hard work and innovative methods,” said Professor Thomas Gradzie.