Postdoc Features

Written by So Young Choi, Ph.D. I have been passionate about the brain, the nervous system, and its functioning since my childhood. When I was young, my father used to run his acupuncture clinic in our living room. I would sit next to him while he treated his patients and he… Read More

Written by Sarah Williford, Ph.D. From an early age, I found myself captivated by the wonders of science—whether it was the way a simple experiment could reveal the intricacies of chemical reactions or how the stars in the night sky told stories of distant galaxies. However, as I delved deeper… Read More

Written by Bilgunay Ilkin Safa, M.D. I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, a city rich in history and culture. Growing up, my mother, a dedicated nurse, was my first inspiration. From a young age, I admired the way she helped people and it made me want to pursue… Read More

Written by Yelena Doe, Ph.D. The balmy morning air of September 1st, 1988 carried the scent of freshly sharpened pencils and anticipation as I stood in my school’s courtyard amidst the laughter of my schoolmates. All of us dressed in impeccably pressed school uniforms – girls in brown dresses overlayed… Read More

Written by Eric Moses Gurevitch, Ph.D. When you think of the history of science, what comes to mind? For some, like the viewers of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the history of science is a history of the technological conquest of a few men over nature. It operates as warning about the horrors… Read More

Written by Suzanne Nolan, Ph.D. As it turns out, despite writing being one of the main components of my job as a postdoctoral fellow and a budding academic, sitting down to write about myself and share with the Vanderbilt community has felt daunting, as the subject of my writing is… Read More

Written by Daniel Chavarria, Ph.D. I grew up in the sister cities of Ciudad Juárez, México and El Paso, Texas, one of the largest international border communities in the Western hemisphere. This dynamic metro area is contained between two mountains ranges. At the north we have the Franklin Mountains and… Read More

Written by Taseer Ahmad, Pharm. D., Ph.D. I grew up in a village in the north of Pakistan, surrounded by beautiful mountains where we speak the language “Pushto.” Since childhood, I wanted to become a physician. So, even after putting in my best efforts, I was unable to get admission… Read More

Written by Laura Carter-Stone, Ph.D. When I first started teaching—first kindergarteners, then high schoolers, then undergraduates and master’s students—I made a lot of mistakes. To my master’s students, I gave so much feedback on their midsemester projects that a few students groaned to see it. To my undergraduates, I gave… Read More

Written by Helen Makhdoumian, Ph.D. Walk by the Robert Penn Warren Humanities Center (RPW) on a sunny afternoon, and you’ll likely see a group of people eating at one of the tables outside and having a lively conversation. Odds are good it’ll be a group of Collaborative Humanities Postdoctoral Program… Read More