Skip Navigation
Search
PAST WINNERS
- 2023
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2023 SBU Postdoc Spotlight
1st Place Ankita Singh (right), 2nd Place Gabriel Matos (left), and 3rd Place Katherine Gallagher (middle)Award Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Ankita Singh Microbiology and Immunology Fixing Leakage in the Gut 2nd Gabriel Matos Microbiology and Immunology Stopping the Fungi Apocalypse 3rd Katherine Gallagher IACS & SoMAS Location: Wang Center Lecture Halls 2 Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Reception & Award Presentation: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm SPOTLIGHT AGENDA:
4:00pm-4:15pm Welcome and Overview Lecture Hall 2 Celia Marshik, Dean, Graduate School, and Vice Provost, Graduate and Professional Education
Miguel Garcia-Diaz, Interim Vice President for Research
Kathleen Flint Ehm, Assistant Dean, Professional Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, and Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affair4:15pm-5:00pm Spotlight Presentations Lecture Hall 2 Moderator: Indhu Varatharajan, Postdoc, Geosciences
Speakers:
Ciro Riccio, Physics and Astronomy
Mitu Sharma, Chemistry
Katherine Gallagher, Institute for Advanced Computational Science & School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Gabriel Matos, Microbiology and Immunology
Arshad Mehmood, Institute for Advanced Computational Science & Chemistry
Atul Pradhan, Medicine
Ankita Singh, Microbiology and Immunology5:00pm Winners Announced & Award Presentation
Wang Center East HallSPOTLIGHT 2023 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Ciro Riccio Physics and Astronomy The Crack in the Mirror 
Mitu Sharma Chemistry Can Chemistry Unlock the Treasure of Bountiful Crops? 
Katherine Gallagher Institute for Advanced Computational Science & School of Marine and Atmospheric Science The Mystery of the Gap 
Gabriel Matos Microbiology and Immunology Stopping the Fungi Apocalypse 
Arshad Mehmood Institute for Advanced Computational Science & Chemistry Painting with Light: A Journey of Interpretation 
Atul Pradhan Medicine Tuberculosis: A Present Challenge 
Ankita Singh Microbiology and Immunology Fixing Leakage in the Gut - 2022
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2022 SBU Postdoc Spotlight
1st Place Tianqi Xie (center)), 2nd Place Julie Burrill (right), and 3rd Place Raphael Lengacher (middle)Award Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Tianqi Xie Geosciences The Impact of the Impact: What Does the Rock Say? 2nd Julie Burrill Alda Center for Communicating Science Where is the DNA in forensic "Touch DNA?" 3rd Raphael Lengacher Chemistry The Search for Cancer – From a Needle in a Haystack to a Bright Flare
Location: Wang Center Lecture Halls 2 Date: Thursday, November 17, 2022 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Reception & Award Presentation: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm SPOTLIGHT 2022 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Aswathy Nair Neurobiology & Behavior The Rhythm of the Brain and Movement 
Athmanathan Senthilnathan Ecology & Evolution What Can Plant-Soil Interactions Tell Us About Forests? 
Hassane Hamdaoui Physics & Astronomy Light Under the Spotlight 
Indhu Varatharajan Geosciences Recreating the Surface of Planet Mercury on Earth 
Julie Burrill Alda Center for Communicating Science Where is the DNA in forensic "Touch DNA?" 
Kaushik Mitra Geosciences Early Mars: Red & Dead or Green & Clean 
Raphael Lengacher Chemistry The Search for Cancer – From a Needle in a Haystack to a Bright Flare 
Tianqi Xie Geosciences The Impact of the Impact: What Does the Rock Say? 
Wenliang (Bill) Li Physics & Astronomy Seeing the Proton from Behind 
Zennur Sekendiz Dept of Medicine, World Trade Center Health Program Understanding the Change in the Minds of 911 First Responders
after COVID 19 - 2021
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2021 SBU Postdoc Spotlight (From left to right)
1st Place Ethan Cline, 2nd Place Olivia Swanson and 3rd Place (tie) Kim Berghaus and Kristian HajnyAward Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Ethan Cline Physics and Astronomy How Big is the Proton? 2nd Olivia Swanson Neurobiology and Behavior The Science of Feeling Full 3rd (tie) Kim Berghaus Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics 3rd (tie) Kristian Hajny School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Location: Zoom Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
SPOTLIGHT 2021 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Laurel Yohe Ecology and Evolution How Dinosaur Brains and Bat Noses Can Save the World Kristian Hajny School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Understanding New York City CO2 From Above Olivia Swanson Neurobiology and Behavior The Science of Feeling Full 
Evgeny Amelchenko Anesthesiology The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Mice living in an interesting or a boring cage differ in aggressiveness 
Jonas Nascimento Conde Microbiology and Immunology Why Don’t You Bleed to Death When You Get COVID-19? 
Neetika Jaisinghani Pharmacology Decoding the Exterior of a Deadly Bug 
Rebecca Adikes Biochemistry and Cell Biology Migration & Division: A Cells Balancing Act Kim Berghaus Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics Making Light of Dark Energy Ethan Cline Physics and Astronomy How Big is the Proton? - 2019
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2019 SBU Postdoc Spotlight
1st Place Paola Cepeda (right), 2nd Place (tie) Kevin Sackel (center) and Hillary Schiff (right)Award Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Paola Cepeda Graduate School & Linguistics Untying the (K)not: Understanding Negation 2nd Kevin Sackel Mathematics & Simons Center Putting the Pieces Together 2nd Hillary Schiff Neurobiology & Behavior Location: Wang Center Lecture Halls 2 Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Reception & Award Presentation: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm SPOTLIGHT 2019 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Kasturi Banerjee Infectious Diseases Protect the Sick from Getting Sicker! 
Somanon Bhattacharya Infectious Diseases Old But Deadly – A Tale Of Elderly Yeast 
Paola Cepeda Graduate School and Linguistics Untying the (K)not: Understanding Negation 
Mariano Guardia Clausi Radiation Oncology A Game-Changer in Brain Cancer Treatment 
Christina Joselevitch Neurobiology and Behavior How Do Brain Cells Talk? 
Diane Kim Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Towards Understanding Suicide 
Yedukondalu Neelam Geosciences What is the Earth's Inner Core Made Up Of? 
Kevin Sackel Mathematics and Simons Center Putting the Pieces Together 
Hillary Schiff Neurobiology and Behavior You Are What You Ate 
Gurtej Singh Surgery Plastic Surgery – We're Cutting Edge 
Yingchao Su Biomedical Engineering Never Go Back to the Hospital 
Stalin Vilcarromero Infectious Diseases The Real Threat for the Hispanic Workers in Suburban Areas of Long Island: Social Barriers and Lyme Disease - 2018
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2018 SBU Postdoc Spotlight
1st Place Lindsey Czarnecki (left), 2nd Place Steven Jaret (middle), and 3rd Place James Robertson(right)Award Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Lindsey Czarnecki Neurobiology & Behavior The Taste of Things to Come 2nd Steven Jaret Geosciences Surviving the Apocalypse: A Fossil Story 3rd James Robertson Laufer Center Location: Wang Center Lecture Halls 1 Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Reception & Award Presentation: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm SPOTLIGHT 2018 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Maryam Alavi Medicine A Tiny Protein and One of the Most Common Cause of Cancer-Related Death 
Harini Krishnan Physiology and Biophysics Dancing with Single Molecules 
Cristina Lazzarini Molecular Genetics & Microbiology The Marvelous and Dangerous World of Fungi 
Steven Jaret Geosciences Surviving the Apocalypse: A Fossil Story 
Evgeni Boriushkin Medicine The Growth of Blood Vessels as a Source of New Discovery 
Carlos Perez Lara Physics and Astronomy The Big Bang Experiment 
Heidi Preis Psychology Improving the Health of Teens Who Have Abortions 
Oumarou Njoya Physics and Astronomy Neutrinos are Tiny, Mysterious, and Everywhere 
Lindsey Czarnecki Neurobiology and Behavior The Taste of Things to Come 
James Robertson Laufer Center Better Living Through Computational Chemistry - 2017
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS FOR BEST TALKS!
Our best talk winners from the 2017 SBU Postdoc Spotlight
1st Place Krupa Haranahalli (left), 2nd Place Diana Amorim (middle), and 3rd Place Maria Rosa (right)Award Name Graduate Program Talk Video 1st Krupa Haranahalli Chemistry Kryptonite for Cryptococcus neoformans 2nd Diana Amorim Physics and Astronomy Accelerators of the Future 3rd Maria Rosa Ecology and Evolution Life in transition: Can feeding flexibility help marine animals in a changing environment?
Location: Wang Center Lecture Halls 1 Date: Thursday, November 16, 2017 Spotlight Talks: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Reception & Award Presentation: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm SPOTLIGHT 2017 COMPETITORS:
Name Department Title and Videos 
Ligia Diana Amorim Physics and Astronomy Accelerators of the Future 
Jozef Bodnar Mathematics Strings and doughnuts 
Emiliano Brini Laufer Center Using physics and information to look at how proteins hug 
Veronica Canoa Roman Physics and Astronomy The First Second of the Universe 
Krupanandan Haranahalli Chemistry Kryptonite for Cryptococcus neoformans 
Hagit Hak Biochemistry There’s someone in my kitchen! How Agrobacterium hijacks plant cells for making food 
Soumyadeep Mukherjee Public Health Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among 9/11 Responders: An unfortunate legacy of getting bullied in childhood 
Maria Rosa Ecology and Evolution Life in transition: Can feeding flexibility help marine animals in a changing environment? 
Kirsten Siebach Geosciences Reading the Martian Rock Record: Stories of a Previously Habitable World