Leifer named director of postdoctoral affairs office

Cynthia Leifer, Ph.D. '00, professor in microbiology and immunology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, has been appointed director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, effective Jan. 15. The office provides support for Cornell's roughly 750 postdoctoral researchers at the Ithaca, Cornell AgriTech and Cornell Tech campuses.

Christine Holmes, director of the office since its establishment in 2005, is retiring after 34 years at Cornell. Her accomplishments were nationally recognized last year by the National Postdoctoral Association.

With Leifer's appointment, the office, previously named the Office of Postdoctoral Studies, becomes part of Research & Innovation under the vice provost for research. The office was established jointly by the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research in 2005.

"Postdocs are a critical component of the research engine at Cornell," said Vice Provost for Research Gary Koretzky '78. "The shift to Research & Innovation reflects the university's commitment to integrating postdoctoral support more closely with Cornell's research enterprise, positioning postdocs to have greater access to the tools and networks needed for success."

Postdoctoral researchers hold competitive positions open to people who recently earned a doctoral degree. The positions provide mentorship, training and additional experience. "The office is dedicated to supporting postdocs' excellence while they're here and preparing them for their future careers in research and leadership," Koretzky said.

Leifer previously served as the director of graduate studies for the field of biomedical and biological sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research has contributed significantly to the understanding of how the immune system launches and controls immune responses and inflammation.

Leifer organized programming for postdoctoral researchers and conducted formal research on career development strategies in her role as co-developer and co-leader of the Program for Achieving Career Excellence (PACE), funded by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease. Leifer shared the role with former colleague Hector-Aguilar-Carreno, now professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Part of the program was testing innovative ways to support postdocs to determine what approaches were most effective," Leifer said. "Our data shows that training for grant writing and mock study sessions, where postdocs listen in on the conversation as faculty discuss and evaluate their proposals as they would in a real study session, have significant impact for postdocs who choose to pursue research careers."

Leifer held a postdoctoral position herself, at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, before joining the faculty at Cornell. She earned her Ph.D. from the Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

"I look forward to carrying into the future the outstanding work that Christine Holmes did as the office's first director," Leifer said. "Research is changing quickly, with rapidly evolving tools like AI and massive data sets. We're also seeing changes in research careers and the academic landscape. I see it as my role to look forward and develop programming and support mechanisms to help the postdocs as they walk into this new environment."

Holmes is recognized at Cornell and beyond for building a robust program to support postdoctoral researchers by providing career development opportunities and advising. She received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the National Postdoctoral Association for her contributions to the improvement of the postdoctoral experience.

"Christine's dedication and leadership have built a strong foundation for postdoctoral success at Cornell," said Thomas A. Lewis, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. "I am confident that Dr. Leifer will build upon Christine's achievements by continuing to adapt and expand the office's programming and resources to help postdocs excel in research and their careers."

J. Edward Anthony is a writer for Cornell Research & Innovation.