PDA Newsletter March 2025

[Danlei Chen]

[https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdrFi7CTi7y6X1rCcl75Zu6jIpmkF6ihLFcKuCefpzIAuR4rdb-ptzzJALcAOQQU_DJH2dn2MB17tED8uW3l1EWV7zdlw-O7RYmnOqKJNCYPc0HaKcgoFHw_uaq4MaIcACGqCHGtZyWqjYjo2myoC8?key=iUbmt-xl9t8IcGYKqtOh3Kbv]
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MIT PDA GENERAL MEETING AND COFFEE HOUR! ☕
Join us for our monthly PDA meeting! Enjoy coffee and snacks while we connect, share updates from PDA officers, and discuss postdoc life. We're reformatting our coffee hour to be more casual—drop by for a relaxed chat, share your thoughts and concerns, and get more involved in our community.

Tuesday, March 25th, 12pm-1pm
In person @ E25-117  *NOTE THE ROOM CHANGE*
On Zoom @ https://mit.zoom.us/j/96221008860

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Orientation committee chair nominations!
Our current Orientation Committee Chair, Ziling Chen, has recently completed his postdoctoral appointment and can no longer serve in this role. With Ziling’s departure, we are now seeking self-nominations for a new Orientation Committee Chair.

The Chair is responsible for organizing resources and events to help new postdocs transition successfully into the MIT community, and it is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the postdoc experience while building valuable leadership skills.

If you are interested in nominating yourself for this important position, please email us (contactpda at mit.edu<mailto:contactpda at mit.edu>). All nominees will have an opportunity to introduce themselves, and a vote will be held at the upcoming Monthly Postdoc Meeting on 3/25 at 12pm.

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Challenges for Global PIs
Postdocs are invited to our panel "Challenges for Global PIs" to discuss strategies and experiences for postdocs and graduate students who want to become leaders in their academic and non-academic future careers. In this panel, we will discuss the main challenges and problem-solving opportunities when leading groups from different backgrounds and origins.

Everyone is invited, and questions before and during the panel are welcome.

Moderator: Amilton B Botelho Junior, Postdoc Associate-DMSE (MIT PDA DEI Committee Chair)
Panelists: Dr. Lloyd Munjanja, Senior Community Engagement Officer, VP for Research; and Nandi Bynoe, Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, School of Engineering

Registrations: https://bit.ly/PDA-Event-Global-PIs
Time: 11am-12:30pm, Friday March 14th, 2025
Location: 32-141
Food and soft drinks will be provided

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Group outings to theater and concert
Join fellow postdocs to programs from the Speakeasy Stage Company and the MIT Music & Theater Arts.

A Man of No Importance by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Date and time: Friday, March 14th, 7:30pm-9:00pm
Where: Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St, Boston
Sign up at: https://forms.gle/6uGj8aoyEFep83nQ6
** All PDA-sponsored tickets have been taken. You can choose to be added to the waitlist or purchase your own ticket ($35.5 with fee) and join the group!!

As Stars, Our Sacrifices by MIT Music & Theater Arts
Date and time: Saturday, March 15th 8:00pm-10:00pm
Where: Thomas Tull Concert Hall, Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building W18-1102
Sign up at: https://forms.gle/Sg6ttnVcZpjWTHvo8
Free and open to the public. Friends and family are welcome!!

We welcome suggestions for postdoc group outing events. Please reach out to PDA Community Building Committee Chair Yiqiao at pda-community at mit.edu<mailto:pda-community at mit.edu> or yqzheng at mit.edu<mailto:yqzheng at mit.edu>.

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MIT department and lab tour series
We are taking you to the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research<https://ki.mit.edu/> where scientists are creating knowledge, tools, and treatments to fight cancer.
Dates: March 18th & 25th
Time: 3:00pm-4:30pm
Sign up at: https://forms.gle/tnkoUCWahuWA4VjF9 ** Please indicate your availability on both dates.
We are looking for volunteers who think their department/institute/lab is super cool and want to share it with other postdocs!! Please reach out to PDA Sports Committee Chair Fabian at pda-sports at mit.edu<mailto:pda-sports at mit.edu>.
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Visa and green card application information sessions
Victoria from BAL Immigration Law will host an information session regarding visa/green card applications. Pizza will be served!
Date: March 27th
Time: 12-1pm
Location: 56-191
Information: Victoria from BAL Immigration Law will host an information session regarding visa/green card applications.

We will host a second session with The Arkell Immigration Team at Dunn Law Firm:
Date: April 11th
Time: 12pm
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81345671813

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Coming soon - postdoc book club and board game/puzzle nights!!!
With the help of a small group of postdocs that are passionate about community building, we are now planning to start postdoc board game/puzzle nights and a postdoc book club. We will meet monthly. The tentative start date is April 8th and April 22nd, respectively. Look out for emails from the planning committee, mark your calendars!

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Reach out to us through slack, email, and instagram!
Join the Slack channel: https://mit-postdocs.slack.com/
Email the PDA: contactpda at mit.edu<mailto:contactpda at mit.edu>
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitpda/

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