PDA Newsletter May 2026

Mon May 11 14:26:49 EDT 2026

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🍕 PIZZA HOUR with the PDA!

Take a break and join fellow postdocs for a relaxed lunchtime Pizza Hour hosted by the PDA! Catch up with colleagues, meet new postdocs, and hear brief updates from PDA officers about upcoming events and opportunities.

When: 12:30pm-1:30pm, Tuesday, May 26th
Where: In person E25-401

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✈️ Summer Travel Advisory

Planning international travel this summer? MIT International Scholars Office encourages all non-U.S. citizens, including scholars on non-immigrant visas and U.S. permanent residents, to carefully review travel risks and requirements before leaving the U.S. Key reminders include consulting with an ISchO advisor, checking visa stamp validity, notifying your MIT DLCI, confirming DS-2019 travel signatures for J-1/J-2 scholars, and reviewing guidance on electronics, research data, and MIT travel registration. A few hours of preparation before departure can make a big difference. Please review the ISchO guidance and contact your ISchO advisor or ischo at mit.edu with questions.

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💼 Industry Career Panel

Are you interested in exploring career paths beyond academia? Join us for a discussion with panelists from industry and startups who will share their experiences, insights, and advice on making the transition.
Lunch provided by the PDA.

When: 1:00pm–2:30pm, Friday, May 15th
Where: E19-202 + Zoom
Zoom link: <https://mit.zoom.us/j/94504852607> https://mit.zoom.us/j/94504852607
Register and submit questions: MIT PDA Industry Career Panel<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdDwdcsrNle7PDuUQhT_-_t1NSUK-Gxo0azj69DRNCO0IjM9A/viewform?usp=dialog>

This panel features:

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Steven Rick – Solutions Architect at NVIDIA
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Jonathan Cottet – Senior Applications Engineer at Parallel Fluidics
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Blaise Delaney – Applied AI/ML Researcher and Startup Leader
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Medha Rath – Senior Scientist at Amgen

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🎶 Postdoc Karaoke Night!

We rented out the newly renovated on campus bar, The Thirsty Ear Pub, located in Ashdown House<https://maps.app.goo.gl/6ec41XZ5AS2uhxRv7>. Come drink cheap beer, socialize with other postdocs and SING your little scientist heart out.

When: 7:00pm-10:00pm, Thursday, May 21st
Where: Thirsty Ear Pub in Ashdown House
Bring: State ID, MIT ID, Cash, your best karaoke performance

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 🎲 Postdoc Board Games Night!

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: 6pm-8 pm, Thursday, May 14th
Where: E25-401
Sign up: https://forms.gle/7h9mLUcGXxzYM9SU9

For questions, please reach out to pda-community at mit.edu.

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✨ MIT Postdoc Spotlight Series

Each month, we highlight two exceptional MIT postdocs whose research, leadership, mentorship, and personal journeys are shaping the future of science and our community.

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Michael Desgagné

Michael Desgagné is a postdoctoral researcher at MIT developing innovative therapies for metastatic prostate cancer by targeting proteins once considered “undruggable.” His work combines advanced technologies like peptide-encoded libraries and automated-flow peptide synthesis to discover novel cancer therapeutics that could reduce chemotherapy side effects and improve patient outcomes worldwide.
Michael’s journey has also been shaped by resilience — during his PhD, he stepped into a leadership role after the unexpected passing of his supervisor, mentoring students and helping keep the lab’s research moving forward during a difficult transition. Beyond science, he is deeply committed to mentorship, inclusion, and supporting fellow researchers in their career development.

Fun facts: Although highly social, Michael describes himself as an introvert, loves Mu Lan restaurant, and hopes to one day open his own research lab in Canada.

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Sharmelee Selvaraji

Sharmelee Selvaraji is a postdoctoral researcher in the Anikeeva Lab at MIT, where she studies the gut-brain axis of Parkinson’s disease and explores how gene-environment interactions influence disease progression. Her research focuses on early intervention strategies and identifying biomarkers that could help detect Parkinson’s before significant neuron loss occurs. In a major milestone, Sharmelee spent nearly two years securing rare human tissue samples from Parkinson’s patients, bringing her work one step closer to real-world clinical impact.
Beyond research, she values mentorship, collaboration, and MIT’s highly interdisciplinary environment, which she says has pushed her to think beyond conventional boundaries and grow as an independent scientist. Inspired by the mentorship of Polina Anikeeva, she hopes to one day lead her own research team while contributing to science communication and policy.

Fun facts: Sharmelee is trilingual, originally from Singapore, enjoys relaxing by the Charles River, and jokingly says her long eyelashes are one of her signature traits!

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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<mailto:contactpda at mit.edu>
📸 Follow us on Instagram: @mitpda<https://www.instagram.com/mitpda/>

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