Win a Postdoc Travel Award
The 11th Annual UW–Madison Postdoctoral Research Symposium will be held on Friday, September 25th, 2026 at the Discovery Building. Organized in honor of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, the symposium offers a venue for UW–Madison postdocs to share their work and connect with other local postdocs.
The symposium will include a Blitz Talk Competition and Poster Competition. The winners will receive substantive travel awards.
Please note that eligibility for these competitions is restricted to Morgridge Institute for Research postdocs and UW-Madison postdocs with the appointment titles: Research Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow and/or Postdoctoral Trainee. Individuals with the title Honorary Associate/Fellow should contact Imogen Hurley (ihurley@wisc.edu) to confirm that they are eligible to participate.
Blitz Talk Competition
The symposium’s Blitz Talk competition will showcase postdoc research from all disciplines. Blitz Talk presenters will give a 5-minute research talk designed to engage a general audience. The winners will receive substantive travel awards.
To participate, submit your ~300-word abstract by Friday, July 31, 2026. Notification of acceptance will be sent in late August.
Detailed guidelines for Blitz Talk abstract submissions are here. Questions? Contact the Postdoc Symposium Committee (uwpa@postdoc.wisc.edu).
Poster Competition
Poster presenters will bring a poster highlighting a recent research project (feel free to re-present a poster from another conference). This is a great opportunity to share your work and hone your research communication skills. The winners will receive substantive travel awards.
To participate, submit your ~300-word abstract by Friday, August 28, 2026. Notification of acceptance will be sent in early September.
Detailed guidelines for Poster abstract submissions are here. Questions? Contact the Postdoc Symposium Committee (uwpa@postdoc.wisc.edu).
Past Symposium Award Winners
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2025 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice: Stephanie Hong, Population Health Sciences
People’s Choice: Aditi Gargeshwari, Waisman Center
Poster Competition
1st place: Chandrani Kumari, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery
2nd place: Elizabeth Shaver, Educational Psychology
2024 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice: Kaylin Didier, Department of Kinesiology
People’s Choice: Apoorva Reddy, Department of Surgery
Poster Competition
Joint 1st Place: Lauren Lucas, Department of Bacteriology
Joint 1st Place: Vishnu Raj, Department of Integrative Biology
2023 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judge’s Choice 1st Place: Anumitha Venkatraman, Department of Surgery
Judge’s Choice 2nd Place: Khadijeh Masumnia-Bisheh, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
People’s Choice Award: Xiao-Fei Gao, Department of Chemistry
Poster Competition
1st Place: Mykola lalovega, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
2nd Place: Saba Munawar, Department of Medicine
2022 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice Award: Kaylin Didier, Department of Kinesiology
People’s Choice Award: Maria Needham, Department of Chemistry
Poster Competition
1st Place: Mykola lalovega, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
2nd Place: Jizhe Cai, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
2021 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice: Adityarup Chakravorty, Department of Oncology
People’s Choice: Ajay Muralidharan, Department of Chemistry
Poster Competition
1st Place: Arkadipta Bakshi, Department of Botany
2nd Place: Jin Yang, Department of Mechanical Engineering
2019 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice Award: Arkadipta Bakshi, Department of Botany
People’s Choice Award: Suyong Choi, School of Medicine and Public Health
2018 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice Award: Prarthana Dharampal, Department of Entomology
People’s Choice Award: Yuzhe Xiao, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2017 Award Winners
Blitz Talk Competition
Judges’ Choice Award: Yichao Rui, Department of Soil Science
People’s Choice Award: Libby Pier, Center for Women’s Health and Research