By Lindsey Haugh
Six postdoctoral fellows have been selected as part of the inaugural class of Virginia Tech’s Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship program.
The highly competitive program selected postdoc researchers who are working with Virginia Tech faculty mentors on projects ranging from rapid detection for foodborne pathogens to 5G to human energetics and obesity investigations.
“We are thrilled to attract high-caliber talent as the first cohort of Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows that will further enhance and diversify the Virginia Tech postdoc community,” said Dan Sui, senior vice president for research and innovation. “I look forward to following their progression as they develop their innovative research projects, immerse themselves in the university postdoc community, and learn from our faculty mentors how to prepare for successful careers in academia, industry, and service.”
Additional fellows will be announced in the coming months. The first members of the 2022-23 Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow class are:
Abdelkafar Alkishe
Research Frontiers track: Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, College of Natural Resources and Environment
Faculty mentor: Luis Escobar, assistant professor of disease ecology
Blake Caldwell
Research Frontiers track ; Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
Faculty mentor: Liwu Li, professor of inflammation biology and immunology
Harsimran Kaur
Research Frontiers track: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
Faculty mentor: Amrinder Nain, associate professor of mechanical engineering
Olalla Prado-Nóvoa
Research Frontiers track: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty mentor: Kevin Davy, professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise
Daniel Smith
Research Frontiers track: School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty mentor: Brian Badgley, associate professor of environmental microbiology
Xue Zhao
Research Frontiers track: Department of Biological Systems Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Faculty mentor: Juhong Chen, assistant professor of biological systems engineering