UIC Office of Postdoctoral Affairs selects seven postdocs to receive fellowships

Postdoctoral researchers are essential to the academic research enterprise. In the lab, they serve as lead researchers, turning big-picture ideas into data-driven experiments, as well as mentors to other lab members.

"Postdocs are going to become faculty members, the future researchers who have the ideas that are continuing science," said Valerie Fako Miller, PhD, director of UIC's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. "They're also going to be leaders in the biotech industry, pharma or wherever else they may go after their time here at UIC. This additional training period is so critical for that."

In recognition of the importance of postdoc training, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation committed $1.5 million to the University of Illinois System. UIC will use its allocated funds to support seven postdocs for the next year.

"The funding from the Moore Foundation provides postdocs in the University of Illinois System with unique opportunities and allows them to continue the world-class research that changes lives," said Nick Jones, executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs of the University of Illinois System. "The joint initiative among our three universities demonstrates what makes the U of I System extraordinary: collaboration, innovation and commitment to our research community."

"We are pleased to provide this one-time infusion of funding to help universities support these scientists at a critical juncture of their careers," said Aileen Lee, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "Advancing scientific discovery is core to our mission and we strive to invest where we can make long-term, measurable difference, including supporting talented people whose ideas will shape the future."

The fellowships will be used to fund the postdocs' salaries, fringe benefits and professional development costs, including workshops, trainings, conferences and equipment. Postdocs submitted applications explaining the importance and impact of their research, which were then reviewed by a faculty panel.

"There were many outstanding applications, which serves as a testament to the research that our postdocs are doing and their ability to write about it," Miller said. "I think what's really cool is, of the seven who were selected, they came from different departments all across campus."

The selected postdocs conduct research in green chemistry; optical, chemical and condensed matter physics; molecular biology; ecology; and materials science. Learn more about them and the work they're doing.

A'Lester Allen
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Retzky College of Pharmacy

A'Lester Allen knew from age 5 that he wanted to be a scientist. By middle school, he knew he wanted to be a chemist. But it wasn't until he participated in UIC's Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award​ program for postdocs, where he was able to expand his laboratory skill set in medicinal chemistry while teaching, that he could see the end goal.

"It's been an up and down journey of trying to take my first-generation background and my interest in science and actually navigate through all the hoops and barriers to get to being a professor," said Allen. "And I feel like finally, after so many years, it's right there. I can see it. Through doing the postdoc, I have a lot more clarity of what it takes to be a professor. That led me to start applying for more grants and putting myself out there a bit more, getting more professional development. UIC has been a nurturing environment to develop all of this."

Allen's current research lies at the interface of physical chemistry, spectroscopy and peptide design. He's working to create a new suite of molecular tools that make the invisible visible, revealing how peptides behave and function inside complex biological systems in real time without altering the physical and biological properties of the molecules being studied.

"You typically give postdocs the big idea of a project, and then they run with it," Allen said. "By giving postdocs funding, you're allowing them to pursue their own ideas, develop more independence and be ready to be a professor."

Tiffany Christian
Biological Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Tiffany Christian is using her background in statistics to make an impact on environmental science.

Leveraging remote sensing and statistical methods for large scale data, Christian is documenting which new species have traits that give them a competitive advantage over resident species' traits, such as flood and shade tolerance or high seed counts. She's also studying how climate change impacts the growing season and how invasive species can use up resident species' resources before they're even in bloom. The goal: provide wetland managers with the tools they need to protect Illinois' natural areas.

"One thing that's important to me is trying to make sure that there's an actionable item from my research," Christian said. "Once we know how similar these new invaders may be to existing invaders, we can try to aggregate and distribute treatment information for the wetland managers in Illinois."

Christian didn't initially intend to become a postdoc, instead planning to work for the federal government. But after graduation, her desire to combine statistics and ecology and collaborate across disciplines led her to UIC.

"I feel like it was a good space to be an incubator for me to grow and develop as a as an ecologist and make that pivot in a supportive environment," Christian said. "It's a good preparatory space for your career, whether you decide to do academia or not."

Jaeyeon Jo
Physics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Jaeyeon Jo came to UIC for a rare opportunity. Using her expertise in transmission electron microscopy, Jo is studying the mechanism of high-temperature superconductors using the world's first analytical, aberration-corrected and monochromated scanning transmission electron microscope with a magnetic field-free objective lens (MONO-MARS). If she can contribute to uncovering the origins of superconducting materials with this work, they could be engineered and used in new technologies, such as quantum computers.

"I wanted to expand my expertise with this postdoc experience," said Jo. "I was especially interested in the opportunity this unique microscope at UIC can provide."

Being a postdoc provides opportunities that researchers can't always get as PhD students or undergraduates, such as leading projects and teaching students. They are an integral part of the research community. For Jo, this was an important factor in her decision to become a postdoc.

"The postdoc years are necessary to learn how to communicate with other researchers, fundraisers and students in addition to doing research projects," said Jo. "Students can get hands-on learning from postdocs. Professors can manage many projects at once with the aid of postdocs. Postdocs are like bridges in research communities."

Betul Kara
Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Years ago, Betul Kara was a student volunteer in a neurobiology lab at UIC. After finishing her PhD and deciding to continue her research into the brain, she knew UIC was the right place for her.

"There's still a lot that we need to understand in terms of the basic biology of how the brain works," said Kara. "I still want to go after my curiosity, and to do that, I believe academia is the best place. After getting to see the research environment here, how people were collaborative, supportive, encouraging, I didn't hesitate to come back."

Kara is studying the crosstalk between lipids in brain cells and their role in autophagy, the internal recycling mechanism in the cells.

Kara thinks that postdoctoral research provides the opportunity to grow as a young independent researcher, which would pave her way toward her goal of becoming a professor and doing her own research.

"As a postdoc, you have the skill set and understanding of how to do science," said Kara. "I think being a postdoc is a great opportunity and exploration. That's why it is crucial to have funding resources and opportunities for postdocs that will help us to get on our feet in academia."

Bidyut Kumar Kundu
Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Biomass conversion for energy and chemical development can be expensive and inefficient, often using homogeneous single-use catalysts. Bidyut K. Kundu is addressing this challenge by designing heterogeneous biomimetic peptide catalysts that mimic natural enzymatic processes and adapting them for industrial applications.

"My research is inspired by the human body, where enzymes efficiently speed up chemical reactions that convert one molecule into another, generating energy and supporting many essential biological processes," said Kundu. "I aim to mimic the active sites of these enzyme structures in the laboratory and explore whether their functions can be recreated using synthetic catalysts."

Kundu continued: "For example, turning plant-based biomass materials into biofuels requires catalysts that help speed up the conversion into usable energy. Our goal is to create peptide framework-based catalysts that are inexpensive, reusable and can be recycled many times without losing their performance."

Throughout his academic career, Kundu sought postdoctoral training in an environment that combines expertise in biocomputational design and enzymatic catalysis with access to advanced instrumentation, enabling him to develop the technical expertise, interdisciplinary perspective and professional network needed for future opportunities in academia and industry. His research benefits from facilities at the UIC's Research Resources Center, as well as the beamline access at Argonne National Laboratory.

"Individual postdoctoral fellowships are extremely valuable because they support researchers to plan their training, provide the freedom to explore innovative research ideas and develop the skills necessary for an independent career," said Kundu. "They also offer opportunities to attend workshops and conferences, build collaborations and establish professional networks within the scientific community."

Jungsub Lee
Civil, Materials and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Have you ever dropped a ceramic mug and watched it shatter? What if all it did was dent? Using a new technique, Jungsub Lee is trying to prove that ceramics can be tough enough to withstand everything from drops in the kitchen to the extreme environment of turbine engines. One day, they may even be able to replace metals as a fracture-tolerant material.

"We are studying the small-scale structure of ceramics to see if we can translate over some of the useful features that make metals inherently deformable," said Lee. "We can sustain the attractive properties of ceramics -strength and stability - and at the same time make it endure impact and deformation, so we can find new applications across a variety of sectors, including energy and aerospace."

In addition to his research, Lee has been able to attend seminars, career symposiums and academic conferences to grow as an early career scientist. With this new opportunity, he's able to prioritize his research and professional development, instead of seeking funding opportunities.

"I can focus more on my research during this year, so I can move to the next step without worrying about financial support," said Lee. "This fellowship also supports professional career development, like conferences and travel, which are crucial to be recognized in the broader community. I'm really excited to connect with researchers not only in academia, but also national labs and industries and get to the next level of my career."

Nazifa Rumman
Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering

Nazifa Rumman is communicating at the speed of light. Using combined structured light beams and a camera, she can send millions of distinct messages quickly and securely through free space.

Unlike conventional Gaussian light beams, structured light can better withstand distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence. Rumman is developing methods that allow a receiver to simply capture an image of the light pattern and decode the transmitted information, without needing the phase information of the light wave.

"I don't think it's going to remain just research," Rumman said. "There are going to be many practical applications."

In the future, she hopes to move her experiments outside the laboratory by transmitting signals between buildings to test how well the method performs under real atmospheric turbulence. Beyond communication, Rumman also explores how visible light interacts with human skin and how those interactions could be used to develop non-invasive technologies.

"Light is incredibly versatile - we can use it almost everywhere," she said. "That's why I'm so interested in understanding how it interacts with materials and even our skin."

For Rumman, research funding is both motivation and validation.

"Research funding encourages us that we're doing something that could be impactful, and there are people who are trying to help us get there," said Rumman. "I enjoy the work, and I'm just grateful that I'm able to do it."

Within the past decade, universities have recognized the importance of having offices dedicated to postdocs, which create additional opportunities for postdocs to grow, by providing access to resources, seminars, training, networking and community. UIC's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs was instituted in 2018 and serves as the central point of contact and advocacy for over 300 UIC postdocs and the administrators, staff and faculty who support them.

"I think this funding opportunity from the Moore Foundation is an example of why it's important to have a specific, dedicated person who's focused on postdocs," Miller said. "Because I'm the only one who focuses solely on postdocs within the U of I System, I was able to take the lead and work together with the three universities to put together our funding plan and submit it to the foundation."

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs oversees other unique opportunities for postdocs, including the Your Future in Science Series, the annual Career Development Symposium led by the Postdoctoral Association and the Postdoctoral Scholar of the Year Award.

Learn more about the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.

- Rebecca Clair, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research