PDA Newsletter February 2026

[Danlei Chen]

[cid:d9e60cc6-376a-4dad-9bda-53d3c9cd0923]
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No pizza hour this month

Due to some recent rescheduling, we’re canceling our regular pizza hour and the general PDA meeting in late February. But we’re planning a bunch of fun activities to keep you busy (and social) until we meet again. See you in March—with pizza!

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🏆 PDA Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring: Nominations are Open!

We are excited to open nominations for the MIT PDA Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award 2026! The goal of the award is to honor and acknowledge principal investigators (PIs) for excellent postdoctoral scholar mentoring, and to recognize both the value of quality mentoring and its impact on the career path of postdoctoral scholars. It will highlight the unique opportunities and challenges of mentoring postdoctoral scholars, who are poised to become the next generation of academic and scientific leaders. This award is seen as an effective way to spread the culture of awareness of the critical role the faculty play in the academic/career development of postdoctoral scholars, and further, to recognize the importance of postdoctoral scholars to MIT’s mission.

To nominate your PI, please upload your nomination here<https://forms.gle/MqTbm75SAcqo8uSV7>! Nomination eligibility, process, and criteria can be found in the form linked above.

Nominations will close on 03/13/2026 at 11:59 pm EST. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact pda-alumni at mit.edu<mailto:pda-alumni at mit.edu>

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🐣 The Postdoc Buddy Scheme is back for Spring!

New MIT and want to meet other postdocs? Or been here for ages and want to freshen up your social circle with some new friends? Sign up for the Spring PDA Buddy Scheme! The Buddy Program is designed to encourage postdocs out of their small circles by grouping them with other postdocs in a systematic manner to help them build academically and mentally supportive communities.

Registration for this chapter of the program will close on Sunday March 1st; the meetings can be scheduled during the spring.

For this chapter of the program, you can opt to either meet in a larger social gathering or small-group meetups:

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The large group gathering will be a coffee meeting on campus (date TBD, coffee and pastries provided), where you can meet your buddy group, as well as mingle with other postdocs at the event.
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In a small group meetup, you will meet your buddy group on your own time for coffee/tea and receive a reimbursement for your expenses!

Tell us about yourself in the form linked here so we can match you with your new buddies: https://forms.gle/btT4EeC3aX2Cx1cD8

If you have any questions, feel free to email pda-community at mit.edu. Frequently asked questions and more information can be found on the website https://pda.mit.edu/pda-buddy-program/.

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⛸️ PDA Ice Skating at MIT

The PDA is hosting an Ice Skating afternoon at MIT’s Johnson Ice Rink on Sunday, February 22nd. This is a great chance to get moving, enjoy some time on the ice, and hang out with postdocs from across MIT. Whether you’re a confident skater or just here for the vibes, everyone is welcome — and the PDA will cover the cost of skating and skate rentals.
Spots are limited and will be assigned randomly after sign-ups close on February 18th, with a waitlist if needed. Interested? Fill out the interest form and we’ll follow up after sign-ups close!
When: 3–5:15 pm, Sunday, February 22nd
           Where: Johnson Ice Rink (MIT)
           What: Ice skating
           Sign up: Here<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9Y_fEhbJhy1LFVAotXd13AnJJI5kv-Y01r-sANy_VhSga7g/viewform?usp=publish-editor>
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🎲 Postdoc Board Games Night!

Need a way to help fight off the February blues and meet new people? Join our monthly Postdoc Board Games Night!

Our next Postdoc Board Games Night will be taking place on Thursday, February 26th.
Our monthly event brings together postdocs from across MIT to relax and have some fun together. We gather after work to eat free food and play some games – everything from Jenga to Risk (you decide how intense an evening you’d like). We have a selection of games, but feel free to bring your own games from home to play!

When: 6-8 pm, Thursday, February 26th
Where: 68-181
What: Board games + pizza
Sign up: https://forms.gle/wy56sox4Nt7hq7QcA

For questions, please reach out to pda-community at mit.edu<mailto:pda-community at mit.edu>.

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🎨 Art Break: Postdoc Painting Event

Take a break, get creative, and connect with fellow postdocs! We’re hosting our first painting event of the semester, and all painting materials will be provided. Feel free to bring your own supplies too and share with the group if you’d like. No sign-up needed; just come hang out with us!
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When: 5-6 pm, Thursday, March 5th
Where: First-floor cafeteria in Koch Institute

Come unwind and make something beautiful! For questions, please reach out to Danlei Chen (danlei at mit.edu<mailto:danlei at mit.edu>) or Yiqiao Zheng (yqzheng at mit.edu<mailto:yqzheng at mit.edu>).

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🧬 MIT Sloan Healthcare & BIoInnovations Conference

MIT Sloan’s 24th Annual Healthcare and BioInnovations Conference is just around the corner! We are bringing a blockbuster group of speakers to discuss the disruptions happening in healthcare today. Come join us and dive into one of our amazing panels, absorb the wise leadership lessons of our keynotes, or dig into thoughtful networking with industry experts. See you there on February 27th @ MIT Media Lab. Find out more and get tickets here:  https://lnkd.in/emAjkEeA.

This year’s conference will feature four keynote speakers:

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Alastair Bell<https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastair-bell-md-mba-88baa9/>, CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System
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Julie Kim<https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-s-kim/>, CEO-Elect of Takeda
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Vas Narasimhan<https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasnarasimhan/>, CEO of Novartis
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Patrick Gilligan<https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-f-gilligan/>, CEO of Point32Health

And four panels:

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Driving Equity through Digital Health (Amwell, GroundGame Health, Biofourmis, Omada Health)
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From Reaction to Prevention: Building the Future of Global Health (Gilead, Ex-Merck and Moderna, CEPI, BU)
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AI Buyers and Builders (Microsoft, Phillips, Bayer, NVIDIA)
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The Next Frontier of Cardiovascular Innovation (J&J, Novo Nordisk, Oura, MIT)

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🏃‍♀️ Join the Postdoc Run Club!

It’s that time of year when everyone decides they need to get some more exercise, and what better way to do it than with your fellow postdocs? Come and join us for the weekly postdoc run club!

We meet every weekend (usually Sunday mornings) for a sociable and fun run. Our main aim is to get exercise and make new friends, so every ability is welcome (and no one gets left behind)! We warm up with hot drinks and snacks after the run.

When: 10am Every Sunday (but check our group chats for updates)
Where: ⁠We meet up in front of the main building of MIT (77 Massachusetts Avenue  https://maps.app.goo.gl/vJFb28UffuJw2je8A)
Stay in the loop: You can join our WhatsApp (our most frequently used communication platform) here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DuVJG7Df7WN4vx6XhCme5e. And our slack channel here: https://mit.enterprise.slack.com/archives/C02BH7V8H9D

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 📅 Grad Student Council (GSC) Monthly Events

The Graduate Student Council has kindly put together a monthly event announcement just for postdocs! Many of their events are open to the entire MIT community, and they’ve put a lot of effort into making us feel welcome. It’s a great opportunity to connect with grad students and share interests. Let’s show our appreciation by joining their activities and building stronger ties across our communities!
Check it out here: GSC Event Announcements<http://gsc.mit.edu/current-anno>

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 🎓 New to MIT? Join a Postdoc Orientation!

New postdocs are welcome to sign up for a <https://pda.mit.edu/pins/postdoc-orientation/> Postdoc Orientation<https://pda.mit.edu/pins/postdoc-orientation/>, hosted by the PDA in collaboration with Human Resources and Postdoctoral Services. It will be a great opportunity to meet other new postdocs, learn about postdoc-specific benefits, and ask any questions you may have about Boston MIT.

The orientation sessions are held monthly and you can sign up here<http://web.mit.edu/training/course.html?course=CDT21061c>. Bonus: Lunch and refreshments will be provided! Hope to see you there!

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🌍 Travel Guidance

MIT has prepared travel guidance cards—one version for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and another for non-citizens and non-residents. We encourage everyone to carry the appropriate version when traveling internationally, as a precaution for the foreseeable future. The reference cards can be found here<https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YUdTqEYacl5rx8z5EqYXrXGQXm8FHymx?usp=share_link>.

Other resources:
International Travel Guidance – IScho: https://ischo.mit.edu/news/update-international-travel-guidance
Legal Considerations – Office of the General Counsel:
https://ogc.mit.edu/system/files?file=documents/guid_internat_trav_law_enforc_search_leav_enter_mar-2025.pdf&check_logged_in=1
On-Campus Guidance for Interactions with Immigration and Law Enforcement:
https://ogc.mit.edu/system/files/documents/guid_immigr_law_enforc_on_campus_mar-2025_2.pdf
Loaner Laptops for International Travel – IScho:
https://ist.mit.edu/secure-devices-travel

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📢 Reach out to us through slack, email, and instagram!

💬 Join the Slack channel: mit-postdocs.slack.com<https://mit-postdocs.slack.com/>
📧 Email the PDA: contactpda at mit.edu
📸 Follow us on Instagram: @mitpda<https://www.instagram.com/mitpda/>

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