The two awardees for Postdoctoral Excellence Awards for Research/Teaching are Arvin Soepriatna from Engineering, and Natasha Sekhon from the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. The awardee for the Postdoctoral Excellence Award for Community is Felix Chan from Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry.
Arvin is being recognized for his “critical and forward-thinking mindset, an outstanding work ethic, and a deep passion for both research and mentoring.” Arvin’s research involving tissue engineering, electrophysiology, and cardiac arrhythmias has won him a number of recognitions, including a fellowship from the American Heart Association and selection as a 2021 Rising Star in Engineering in Health by Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University. He was also recognized for his patience, dedication, and positivity as a mentor to students in the lab, and contributions toward lecturing.
Natasha is a Voss Postdoctoral Research Associate and Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow in IBES and DEEPS. In addition to her supportive mentorship and research productivity since joining Brown, she is being recognized for spearheading a new method for the paleoclimate groups in the geochemistry laboratories. She also started a campaign of geochemical monitoring of waters and cave CO2 in three cave systems in the Philippines, to reconstruct past and future climate in this tropical region, representing the first such consistent monitoring in the deep tropics in south east Asia, and overcoming challenges of establishing international collaborations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Felix is being recognized for his efforts as a founding member and co-president of the Brown Postdoc Council (Brown’s Postdoctoral Association). His nomination(s) noted his efforts to help launch and sustain the Council, planning numerous professional development and social activities, advocating for postdoc needs through the Covid postdoc survey, and recognition by the National Postdoctoral Association. He was also described to be “a high achiever scientifically with unusual focus and creativity.”
In this inaugural year of the Postdoctoral Excellence Awards, which are supported by the Office of University Postdoctoral Affairs, the Selection Committee received close to 70 nominations from faculty, staff, students, and postdoc peers. The Committee was impressed by the number of worthy nominees, the scope of achievements that were described, and the expressions of appreciation and support from the nominators. Congratulations to the awardees on their selection for this competitive award!