The Office of University Postdoctoral Affairs (OUPA) is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Brown Postdoctoral Excellence Awards. Please join us in congratulating this year’s recipients!
The Postdoctoral Excellence Awards annually recognize three postdoctoral scholars who demonstrate excellence in research or teaching and go above and beyond to create an inclusive environment for postdoctoral trainees at Brown. The awards are sponsored by the OUPA, and nominations were welcomed from all members of the Brown community.
Two committees of faculty members reviewed nominations and selected the award recipients out of 62 nominations from members of the Brown community. The selection committees were very impressed by the caliber and contributions of those nominated. Award recipients will be recognized with a monetary award and receive a plaque from Deputy Provost Janet Blume at the 2024 Postdoctoral Research Symposium on March 25, 2024.
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Research and/or Teaching Award
Holly Boyle
Postdoctoral Fellow
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies and Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Excerpts from nominations:
"I have no doubt that Dr. Boyle has an outstanding career ahead of her as a scientist in the field of addictions research. Her CV speaks for itself, with 36 publications, funding from the National Institutes of Health, and several other awards…Dr. Boyle aspires to become an independent researcher who seeks to understand the etiology of substance misuse, including among subpopulations at increased substance use risk and develop more effective prevention and intervention efforts. In her first year as a postdoc, she published five separate manuscripts from her dissertation data! These manuscripts represent novel contributions to the field regarding intentions and willingness of simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use, contexts of simultaneous use, and positive and negative consequences of simultaneous use compared to single substance use. …Overall, Dr. Boyle's contributions to the field of addictions are very noteworthy for her career stage, and she is sure to continue to move the field of addictions forward. ...I must speak to Holly’s service…as a member of the department’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee and our weekly Center Rounds Committee. Based on her leadership, she was elected as Senior Postdoctoral Fellow. This, along with her contributions to ongoing research projects, enriches the research capability of the entire center."
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Community Award
Caroline Keroack
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Excerpts from nominations:
"Caroline undertook the co-president position in the Brown Postdoc Council (BPC) leadership this fall and has done amazing things in her short time. She is extremely organized and engaged in all of the BPC events and meetings, and regularly reaches out over Slack and email to check in. Most importantly, Caroline has been one of the main drivers for initiating the unionization of the Brown postdoc community. …Caroline is extremely deserving of the Community Award, and I am very honored to be able to work alongside her. …Caroline was recently awarded the AHA fellowship due to her outstanding academic career and research promise at Brown. This award is extremely prestigious and proves her track record of academic excellence. She is also active in mental health advocacy by arranging an annual fundraiser for suicide prevention and promotes a healthy work environment with everyone she encounters. …Her hard work for the postdocs here at Brown will have lasting effects long after she transitions onwards."
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Research and/or Teaching Award
Leonora Masini
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
Excerpts from nominations:
"Leonora is creating and expanding space for innovative theories of education on slavery. Her combined focus on education, postcoloniality, internationality, and interdisciplinarity is unique, brave, and vital for the futures of both research and teaching. Her background in Italian Studies gives her both a perspective of and access to sites that are often overlooked in the study and teaching of slavery, postcoloniality, and pedagogy. Her academic impacts are prolific and wide-ranging, from the publication of three essays in just eight months, editing two books, and organizing a multi-session workshop at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice. Leonora plans that the scholarship produced for and refined at the workshop "Cinema and Slavery" will result in a book collection on the transatlantic slave trade in cinema and education. She is also the digital editor of the book Asmara/Carrara on the colonial and postcolonial history of Eritrea. ...While her professionalism is exemplary, behind all of Leonora's academic contributions is an evident passion and patience for not only the careful study but also the careful teaching of histories that are crucial for understanding the present."
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Please note that award recipients are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Selection Committee for Research and/or Teaching Awards:
Timothy Bewes, Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities and Professor of English
Robert Miranda, Professor of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Jessica Plavicki, Manning Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Mauro Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Engineering
Audra Van Wart, Assistant Professor of Medical Science
Selection Committee for Community Award:
Timothy Bewes, Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities and Professor of English
Robert Miranda, Professor of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Jessica Plavicki, Manning Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Mauro Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Engineering