At the Spring Postdoc Awards Ceremony on May 23, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in partnership with the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association announced the 2024 award winners, who will also be highlighted in the Graduate School Sesquicentennial time capsule to be opened in 2074.
“Our postdocs play an integral role in the research enterprise and are fundamental to the discovery and learning mission of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center,” commented Vice Provost for Graduate Education André Christie-Mizell, dean of the Graduate School and director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. “Recognizing these postdocs, faculty and campus partners is an important annual activity.”
The award recipients are as follows:
POSTDOC OF THE YEAR
Eric Moses Gurevitch, Ph.D.
Gurevitch is a National Endowment for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow led by Professor of English Teresa Goddu. His scholarship focuses on the history of science in early modern South Asia. His first book, Everyday Sciences: Making Knowledge Local in South Asia, is currently under advance contract with the University of Chicago Press. Gurevitch is described as “a meticulous and creative teacher, an energetic and dependable colleague, and a delightful conversationalist Vanderbilt is lucky to have.”
Suzanne Nolan, Ph.D.
Nolan is in the lab of Professor Cody Siciliano in the Department of Pharmacology. She established herself as an expert in understanding how presynaptic and postsynaptic adaptations to the mesolimbic dopamine pathway underlie contingency learning. She is regularly invited to give talks and chair symposia at national and international meetings. Her work is published in top outlets and is having high impact across her areas of study.
POSTDOCTORAL MENTOR OF THE YEAR
Zer Vue, Ph.D.
Vue was nominated by Professor Antentor Hinton Jr. in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. As a postdoc in the Hinton lab, Vue mentors five of 15 undergraduate students. Her previous students have continued in Ph.D. programs, dental schools and medical education. With Vue’s guidance and encouragement, many of her undergraduate mentees have won distinguished research awards at conferences.
POSTDOC SERVICE AWARD
Tor Nasci, Ph.D.
Nasci is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Eman Gohar in the School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology. Nasci is described as a scientist dedicated to service locally and nationally. They have served on many committees including the Nephrology Faculty and Fellows Committee and the VUMC Pride Employee Resource Group Social Committee. Nasci has also contributed selflessly to the Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Association executive board, first as the chair of the Advocacy and DEI Committee and currently as president.
FACULTY MENTOR OF THE YEAR
Antentor Hinton Jr., Ph.D.
Hinton is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, an Ernest E. Just Early Career Investigator, and a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Diversity Leadership Investigator. Hinton’s research is remarkable, and to date he has published 99 papers, won more than 60 awards, and given 200 invited talks. He has worked to dramatically increase diversity in the scientific workforce by officially mentoring more than 95 individuals and hundreds of others in shadow and informal mentoring.
OUTSTANDING CAMPUS PARTNER
International Student and Scholar Services, led by Julie Wilbers
ISSS supports university J1 postdoctoral scholars. They also provide guidance to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs as they work with the international postdoc population. ISSS has partnered with OPA to provide workshops for international students and postdocs across campus and information sessions for administrators to better support our international community. The knowledge and resources that ISSS provides to the OPA are immensely valuable. The ISSS team is constantly looking for more ways to provide resources to the international community and to advocate on behalf of Vanderbilt’s international scholars.
Click here to view this year’s award ceremony.
For more information on past winners, please visit the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs website.
Vanderbilt postdoctoral fellows, commonly known as postdocs, are professionals who have earned doctoral degrees and are pursuing additional scholarly training, experience and research progress necessary for a wide range of career paths. Postdocs play an important role in Vanderbilt’s research enterprise and are integral to the discovery and learning mission of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Vanderbilt has approximately 500 postdocs across VU and VUMC.
