Psychiatry postdoc's research on smoking cessation wins inaugural UCSF Postdoc Slam competition

By Nina Bai  |  Originally published on UCSF News
 

Postdoc Slam winner Jin Kim, PhD, presents her research about smoking cessation through addressing food insecurity.

Postdoc Slam winner Jin Kim, PhD, presents her research about smoking cessation through addressing food insecurity.  [Photo: Noah Berger]

Jin Kim, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at UC San Francisco's Department of Psychiatry, won the inaugural UCSF Postdoc Slam competition for her talk titled “Promoting Smoking Cessation by Addressing Food Insecurity.”

Ten UCSF postdocs competed to explain complex research in simple language – and in three minutes or less – in the 2016 Postdoc Slam held Thursday, September 22. In front of a packed audience in Byers Auditorium, the contestants spun true tales of science ranging from cancer risk in astronauts to big molecule drug development to the protective benefits of the X chromosome.

Kim, a postdoctoral scholar in the research group of Janice Tsoh, PhD, won first place and a prize of $3,000.

“The intersection between food insecurity and smoking is not an obvious link to many people and I wanted to share that with a wider audience,” Kim said. “I’m really honored to be the only social scientist as part of this contest and I hope I conveyed the passion for the research that I do on health disparities.”

The 10 finalists for the competition were selected from 32 video entries by a panel of screening judges, which included Psychiatry's Lauren Weiss, PhD. A five-judge panel, including representatives from the University and industry, oversaw the live competition.

The other finalists in the competition were:

  • Burcu Hasdemir, PhD - “Relaxed or Stressed? The Placenta Foretells the Fetal Future”
  • Samantha Hindle, PhD - “Controlling Hormonal Behavior of Flies, Mice and Men”
  • Alba Gonzales Junca, PhD - “Why Do Astronauts Have Increased Risk of Cancer?”
  • Navneet Matharu, PhD - “How to Balance Your Satiety: From Sim(1) to Slim”
  • Elena Miñones-Moyano, PhD - “We Could All Use a Bit More of Our X Chromosome”
  • Jeremiah Osteen, PhD - “Painful Lessons: What a Tarantula Bite Teaches Us about Chronic Pain”
  • Ana Ruiz-Saenz, PhD - “Overcoming Resistance to Anti-Cancer Therapies”
  • Travis Ruch, PhD - “Molecular Compass”
  • Anthony Rush, PhD - “Equipping Your Inner Pharmacist”
     

One of the live event judges, Mark Dresser, PhD, head of Development Sciences at Denali Therapeutics and a former UCSF graduate student, said the judges looked for a clear story that outlined the scientific problem and solution and an ability to engage with the audience.

“I think overall the presentations were excellent and informative and a great opportunity to practice communication skills that are essential for scientists to have,” he said. “I applaud everyone who entered the competition. It takes courage to do it.”

The other judges were Teaster Baird, PhD, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at San Francisco State University; Sylvain Cases, PhD, senior director and head of External Science and Partnering for Sanofi US West, Jennifer O’Brien, assistant vice chancellor of Public Affairs at UCSF; and Clifton Poodry, PhD, senior fellow for science education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and former director of the Training, Workforce Development and Diversity Division at the National Institute for General Medical Science of the National Institutes of Health. Baid and Cases are former UCSF postdocs.

Elizabeth Watkins, PhD, dean of the Graduate Division and vice chancellor of Student Academic Affairs, emceed the competition. In her opening remarks, she noted that the slam was part of National Postdoc Appreciation Week and that the research enterprise would not be possible without postdocs.

“I’m thrilled and delighted at this opportunity to showcase the work of our postdocs and the breadth of research at UCSF, from cells and molecules to individuals and populations,” Watkins said. “I know they will benefit from the skills developed in trying to describe their research in three minutes.”
 


About UCSF Psychiatry

The UCSF Department of Psychiatry and the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute are among the nation's foremost resources in the fields of child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric mental health. Together they constitute one of the largest departments in the UCSF School of Medicine and the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, with a mission focused on research (basic, translational, clinical), teaching, patient care, and public service.

UCSF Psychiatry conducts its clinical, educational, and research efforts at a variety of locations in Northern California, including UCSF campuses at Parnassus Heights, Mission Bay, and Laurel Heights, the UCSF Medical Center at Mt. Zion, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, the San Francisco VA Health Care System, and UCSF Fresno.

About the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences

The UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, established by the extraordinary generosity of Joan and Sanford I. "Sandy" Weill, brings together world-class researchers with top-ranked physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human brain.

The UCSF Weill Institute leverages UCSF’s unrivaled bench-to-bedside excellence in the neurosciences. It unites three UCSF departments—Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurological Surgery—that are highly esteemed for both patient care and research, as well as the Neuroscience Graduate Program, a cross-disciplinary alliance of nearly 100 UCSF faculty members from 15 basic-science departments, as well as the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a multidisciplinary research center focused on finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

About UCSF

UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises two top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area.