Postdoctoral Society

Springtime flowers outside of Mac Hall at OHSU

Overview and Mission

The Postdoctoral Society at OHSU works toward the goals of enriching the postdoctoral experience and supporting a flourishing postdoc community. The mission of the society is to enhance the academic, professional, and social experience for all postdoctoral scholars at OHSU. It fosters a postdoctoral community through scientific collaboration, networking opportunities, and career and professional development seminars. The four fundamental aims of the Postdoctoral Society are to:

  1. Facilitate communication and collaboration among postdocs and between postdocs and faculty
  2. Promote the education and exposure of postdoctoral scholars to the multitude of PhD career prospects
  3. Support the professional development of OHSU postdocs
  4. Foster the development of a social environment conducive towards an optimal research training experience

The Postdoctoral Society collaborates with the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to develop and support its goals and initiatives. All postdocs are welcome to participate in Postdoctoral Society events! And interested postdocs can join society leadership at any time by reaching out to the Postdoctoral Society at postdocsociety@ohsu.edu!

You can read the Postdoc Society Bylaws here to learn more!

Paige headshot

Paige Arneson-Wissink - Co-Chair

Paige grew up and got her bachelor’s degree in Wisconsin before completing her PhD at Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Rochester, MN. She is currently a postdoc working in the Grossberg Lab in the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care at OHSU. Paige is currently studying the impact of impaired liver metabolism on muscle homeostasis in pancreatic cancer cachexia and she aspires to be an independent investigator. Since moving to Oregon in 2021, she has really enjoyed getting to camp and hike in the pacific northwest with her husband and dog.   

Marissa headshot

Marissa Co - Co-Chair

Marissa grew up in Dallas, TX, where she received her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is a postdoc jointly mentored by Brian O’Roak (Molecular and Medical Genetics) and Kevin Wright (Vollum Institute). Her current work seeks to uncover molecular and cellular underpinnings of neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and intellectual disability, through the study of transcription factor TBR1. Outside of the lab, she enjoys knitting, cooking, climbing, video games, karaoke, and trivia. 

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Elizabeth Wood - Secretary

Elizabeth is a postdoctoral trainee in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University, where she is a Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Scholar. She received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Brigham Young University in 2020. Her doctoral work focused on identifying the long-term effects of genetic vulnerabilities and exposure to early-life adversity on maternal health and offspring developmental psychobiology in nonhuman primates, including risk for substance use and psychopathological development. During her postdoctoral training, Elizabeth has focused on translating her work to human populations, with a goal of understanding the maternal environment as an adaptive context for child development. Outside of the lab, Elizabeth enjoys watching her children learn and grow, listening to podcasts, and exploring the Oregon coast. 

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Lamya Ben Ameur - Diversity Equity and Inclusion Co-Officer

Lamya was raised in Lyon, France where she earned her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from École Normale Supérieure de Lyon. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher being mentored by Arpiar Saunders at the Vollum Institute. Her research focuses on studying neurotropic virus tropism using cutting-edge single-cell genomic technologies. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, learning new languages, and traveling. 

Kexin Yu headshot

Kevin Yu - Diversity Equity and Inclusion Co-Officer

Kexin Yu is a postdoc fellow at the Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (OADRC) and the Department of Neurology. She serves on the postdoc society as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion co-officer. Her research interests involve examining underlying pathways for the associations between social isolation and cognitive decline and developing behavioral health interventions to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) among racial/ethnically diverse older adults. When she's not working, Kexin enjoys hosting dinner gatherings at home, thrifting interesting clothing and accessories, and going out to explore both the city and nature!

Arianna Scalco headshot

Arianna Scalco - Social Co-Officer

Arianna grew up in Northeast Italy where she completed a master's in Medical Biotechnology and a PhD in Cardiovascular Science at the University of Padova. Driven by her passion for understanding the complex interplay between the nervous system and the heart and how these two systems communicate with each other, she joined the lab of Beth Habecker at OHSU in May 2023. Her current research is focused on investigating the cardiac autonomic remodeling occurring during heart failure following hypertension. Outside of the lab, Arianna enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking, and wine tasting.  

Samantha Tauchmann headshot

Samantha Tauchmann - Social Co-Officer

Samantha grew up in Germany before she moved to the Netherlands for her undergraduate studies. For her PhD degree she moved to Basel, Switzerland to explore mechanisms behind erythroleukemia. Combining her passion for normal and malignant blood cell development she joined the lab of Julia Maxson at the Knight Cancer Research Institute in February 2023. Her current postdoctoral work is focused on understanding the consequences of SETBP1 mutations in myeloid malignancies. Outside of the lab, she enjoys crossfitting, hiking, camping, snowboarding and thrift shopping.  

Aude Chiot headshot

Aude Chiot - Career Development Officer

Aude, a true Bretonne at heart, grew up in Saint-Malo in Brittany, France. Her academic journey led her to the bustling streets of Paris, where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Sorbonne University. She then joined the Paris Brain Institute for her Ph.D. to work on the involvement of peripheral inflammation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In 2020, she came to OSHU to work with Dr. Bahareh Ajami and developed several projects to continue studying inflammation processes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and also study innate immune cells in the inner ear. Outside of the lab Aude enjoys running, playing tennis, baking traveling and eating cheese.

The Postdoctoral Society works to support the diverse perspectives and experiences within the postdoctoral community at OHSU to build a thriving research training environment. This includes not only enhancing ground-breaking research, but maintaining the overall health and well-being of postdocs. 

Stay tuned for invitations from the Postdoctoral Society to attend picnics, hikes, happy hours, and more! These are great opportunities to network with other postdocs and enjoy some much needed relaxation outside the lab!

The Postdoctoral Society helps postdocs across OHSU build professional skills for diverse career aspirations. The society connects with both internal and external resources to support academic and non-academic career paths. Examples of career supports include:

  • Monthly Research in Progress Seminar Series
  • Graduate Student-Postdoc Mentoring Program
  • Participation in the National Postdoctoral Association
  • Curating of online resources

As researchers, the Postdoctoral Society believes we have a responsibility to support marginalized groups in academia and to re-educate ourselves on issues of suppression and racism. The society works to provide resources that allow for the recognition of personal biases, uplift marginalized voices, advocate for increased representation of postdocs from all backgrounds, and denounce racism in all its forms. 

The Postdoctoral Society seeks to increase awareness of OHSU resources important to the personal and professional success of postdocs. In addition, this society works to advocate for the needs of all postdocs, including the development of innovative supports and solutions. They are committed to minimizing obstacles that postdocs may experience while engaged in their research training. 

If you experience questions or concerns as a postdoctoral scholar at OHSU and would like to connect with the Postdoctoral Society, please reach out to postdocsociety@ohsu.edu.