The Postdoc Perspective is a semi-annual publication produced by the UNL Postdoctoral Advisory Council, with oversight by the Office of Postdoctoral Studies, and funding by the Office of Research and Economic Development. Submissions to this publication are accepted at postdoc@unl.edu or
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ATTN: Postdoc Perspective
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| Editor-In-Chief | Jing Jin |
| Assistant Editors | Afua Tetteh |
| Chris Chizinski Sathish Natarajan Rick Lombardo |
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| Production, Art, | |
| & Design Editor | Neal Bryan |
Copyright © 2011
From the Bench
On behalf of the Postdoctoral Advisory Council (PAC), I’m excited to present the inaugural issue of The Postdoc Perspective, a newsletter for postdocs at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Our goal is to publish this newsletter twice a year to highlight upcoming events, professional development seminars and issues important to UNL postdocs, and to spotlight postdoc achievements.
Currently, the PAC includes 19 postdocs from a representative mix of disciplines. The PAC is committed to promoting academic, professional, social, and cultural interaction among UNL postdocs, supporting them in their professional and career development, and serving as an advocate for the postdoctoral community. The PAC is funded by, and works in cooperation with, the Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED), the Office of Postdoctoral Studies (OPS), and the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) to help ensure best practices and a supportive environment.
For those of you new to the UNL postdoc community, the OPS and the PAC host many events (see page 2) during the year. These include: professional and career development seminars; the annual Postdoc Appreciation Week Reception in September; presentations by national speakers and our annual awards luncheon during the annual Research Fair in November; and the summer picnic for postdocs, their families and PIs. Additionally, we’ve recently initiated a travel grant program to help defray some of the costs associated with attending national or international meetings. Currently, we’re still seeking funds to make this program fiscally viable.
The PAC was formed in early 2008, soon after the OPS was established. Since its inception, many postdocs have contributed their time to improving the postdoc experience by serving on Council committees or as members of the PAC Executive Committee.
The 2011 Postdoc Advisory Council & Postdoc Office Staff
–click to zoom
I’d like to thank all past and present members for their efforts and especially our past Chairs—Drs. Cynthia Wei, Sohan Birla, Laura Sullivan Beckers, Ying-zhi Xu, and Damien Tully—for their guidance, foresight, and leadership in helping the Council realize its goals. I'd also like to thank Dr. Prem Paul, Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic Development, and Dr. Ellen Weissinger, Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, for their continuing support of the postdoctoral community here at UNL.
Because postdoc scholars make significant contributions to the quality and breadth of the thriving research/teaching enterprise at this university, we sought to highlight the specific accomplishments of UNL postdocs by listing some of the external grants, awards, and publications in this newsletter. We’ll be including a list of these achievements in future Fall issues, so watch for the upcoming call for submissions.
Email comments or suggestions for future issues of The Postdoc Perspective to postdoc@unl.edu.
—Dr. Sathish Natarajan
2011 Chair, Postdoctoral Advisory Council
2011 Postdoc Events
On May 14 our postdocs, with their families and PIs, enjoyed tasty food and lively music at the 3rd Annual Postdoc/PI Picnic held at the Auld Pavilion in Antelope Park. A local band provided some toe-tapping bluegrass music, children enjoyed face-painting activities, and door prizes were awarded to lucky ticket holders.
The PAC Chair, Dr. Sathish Natarajan of the Department of Biochemistry, officially kicked off the celebration by welcoming the attendees and briefly describing the goals of the PAC for the following year. Jesse Thompson, PAC Treasurer and postdoc in the Department of Biological Sciences, announced the establishment of the new postdoc travel grant program then encouraged those in attendance to raise awareness of the fund (for more details on the grant program, see page 7).
The success of the picnic would not have been possible without contributions from our generous sponsors: Hy-Vee catering, UNL Computer Store, Lincoln Children’s Museum, Nebraska Maps, School of Natural Resources, Nebraska Bookstore, University Bookstore, UNL Dairy Store, UNL Office of Graduate Studies, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Thanks to Norman Oliva, visiting scientist, for his excellent event photos.
Social Time
The venue
Washboard Gravel Band
Facepainting
In 2009, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) established Postdoctoral Appreciation Week—observed the third week in September—to celebrate the important contributions postdoc scholars make to the U.S. research enterprise. In 2011, more than 110 events were held in 30 cities across the country.
UNL’s Postdoc Appreciation Week was capped by a reception held on September 22 at the Van Brunt Visitor’s Center. The reception was a resounding success with administrators, PIs, faculty, and more than 80 postdocs in attendance. Dr. Lombardo, the Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Studies, welcomed attendees to start the celebration. The Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Dr. Ellen Weissinger, expressed enthusiasm for the growth of the postdoctoral community and the accomplishments of the Postdoc Advisory Council (PAC). As Vice Chair of the Council and postdoc in the Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, Dr. Jing Jin introduced the members of the PAC who serve as representative voices for the UNL postdoctoral community. Throughout the event, attendees engaged in lively conversation and camaraderie.
photo by Craig Chandler, © 2011. All rights reserved.
The following day, Dr. Milgram presented another engaging workshop, "Team Leadership Skills for Postdocs." In this presentation she discussed the diverse personalities and communication styles that are present within a team and how these interact to form the team dynamic.
Dr. Kamau Siwatu, Texas Tech University
In 2011, the Office of Postdoctoral Studies continued their Postdoc Development Seminar Series with a workshop on Individual Development Plans in February and a seminar in October on making a successful transition to a faculty job. Dr. Kamau Siwatu, a UNL alumnus and current associate professor of educational psychology at Texas Tech University, presented strategies and practices for success.
2011 Outstanding Postdocs
Dr. Ji Hoon Ryoo
Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools (CYFS)
Dr. Ryoo's research interests are in the analysis of longitudinal/multilevel data, psychometrics (educational measurement), structure equation modeling, and educational policy/program evaluation.
Dr. Ryoo graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2010 with a PhD in Quantitative Methods in Education and & Educational Psychology and started at UNL in 2010. He has been highly successful in his research with 7 manuscripts currently published and 23 presentations at national and international meetings.
He is also currently an instructor as adjunct faculty in the Department of Educational Psychology.
Dr. Weiwei Yang
Department of Chemistry
Dr. Yang's research interests are in biofabrication, bioelectrochemistry, biosensors, electrochemistry of redox polymer, functional electrode layers, assembly of nanoscale materials, electrochemical deposition and fuel cells.
Dr. Yang graduated from Jilin University, Changchun, P.R. China in 2008 with a PhD in Electroanalytical Chemistry and started at UNL in 2008. She has been tremendously productive at her research with 24 manuscripts currently published and 4 presentations at national and international meetings.
In addition to her stellar record in research, she also mentored several UNL undergraduate students in their research projects.
Dr. Avishek Datta
Northeast Research & Extension Center
Dr. Ning Wu
Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Yingzhi Xu
Center for Plant Science Innovation
Dr. Yongbo Yuan
Mechanical & Materials Engineering
2011 Outstanding Postdoc Mentor
Dr. Eileen A. Hebets
School of Biological Sciences
Dr. Hebets joined the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as an Assistant Professor in 2005 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010. Her current research focuses on understanding the diversity associated with communication systems, with much of her current concentration on intra-specific communication relating to reproductive behavior.
One of her nominators wrote: "During my time in Eileen‘s lab … I noticed that Eileen adopted a different style in advising for each of her postdocs. I think this was incredibly significant, since she realized that our needs as scientists were different. As for me, Eileen provided opportunities to guest lecture in her courses, contribute to outreach activities, and present my work at conferences.
"As I concluded my postdoc, she spent hours appraising my research statements, job applications, CVs, and job talks, providing guidance on these documents and the suitability of various positions. It is a tribute to Eileen's guidance that I was successful in gaining a faculty appointment."
Postdoc Grants & Awards in 2011
- Postdocs are an immense driving force in research productivity at UNL and worldwide.
- This is a small selection of what UNL postdocs produced in 2011.
- Postdoc authors are in boldface type.
DeChenne SE. Coaching Science Inquiry for Middle and High School Teachers, Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, $79,568, 2011-2012.
Grassini P. Global Crop Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas, Water For Food Institute, 2011-2013.
Grassini P. Soybean on-farm water productivity, NE Soybean Board, 2011-2013.
Grassini P. Greenhouse-gas emissions and energy efficiency of corn-ethanol systems, NE Corn Board, 2011-2012.
Salas EN. Best Oral Presentation Award, Hypovitaminosis D in a Swine Herd, 2011 Meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.
Stroup W (PI), Green J, Smith W, Lukin L (Co-PIs). Data Connections: Developing a Coherent Picture of Mathematics Teaching and Learning, National Science Foundation. $1,213,475, 2011-2014.
Postdoc Publications in 2011
Badalucco L, Poudel I, Yamanishi M, Natarajan C, Moriyama H. Crystallization of Chlorella deoxyuridine triphosphatase. Acta Crystallographica Section F. 2011; F67: doi:10.1107/S1744309111038097
Bajer PG, Chizinski CJ, Sorensen PW. Use of radio-tagged 'Judas' fish to track and remove winter aggregations of common carp in Mid-western lakes. Fisheries Management and Ecology. 2011; 18, 497–505.
Bao B, Wijeratne SS, Rodriguez-Melendez R, Zempleni J. Human holocarboxylase synthetase with a start site at methionine-58 is the predominant nuclear variant of this protein and has catalytic activity. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2011; 412(1):115-120.
Beckman NG, Muller-Landau HC. Linking fruit traits to variation in predispersal vertebrate seed predation, insect seed predation, and pathogen attack. Ecology. 2011; 92:2131-2140.
Bucy DS, Brown MS, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Thompson J, Bachand AM, Morges M, Elder JH, Vandewoude S, Kraft SL. Early detection of neuropathophysiology using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in asymptomatic cats with feline immunodeficiency viral infection. Journal of Neurovirology. 2011; 17(4): 341-352.
Chizinski CJ, Peterson A, Hanowski J, Blinn CR, Niemi G, Vondracek B. Breeding bird response to partially harvested riparian management zones. Forest Ecology and Management. 2011, 261: 1892-1900.
Davila JI, Arrieta-Montiel MP, Wamboldt Y, Cao J, Hagmann J, Shedge V, Xu YZ, Weigel D, Mackenzie SA. Double-strand break repair processes drive evolution of the mitochondrial genome in Arabidopsis. BMC Biology. 2011 Sep 27; 9:64.
Dinh PX, Beura LK, Panda D, Das A, Pattnaik AK. Antagonistic effects of cellular poly(C) binding proteins on vesicular stomatitis virus gene expression. Journal of Virology. 2011 Sep; 85(18):9459-71.
Dolph C, Huff DD, Chizinski CJ, Vondracek B. Implications of community concordance for assessing stream health at three nested spatial scales in Minnesota, USA. Freshwater Biology 2011, 56: 1652-1669.
Gao Y, Zhou YS, Park JB, Wang H, He XN, Luo HF, et al. Resonant excitation of precursor molecules in improving the particle crystallinity, growth rate and optical limiting performance of carbon nano-onions. Nanotechnology. 2011; 22:165604.
Gao Y, Zhou YS, Qian M, Xie ZQ, Xiong W, Luo HF, et al. Fast growth of branched nickel monosilicide nanowires by laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Nanotechnology. 2011; 22:235602.
Goodman RE, Tetteh AO. Suggested improvements for the allergenicity assessment of genetically modified plants used in foods. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports. 2011; 11(4):317-324
Grassini P, Thorburn J, Burr C, Cassman KG. High-yield irrigated maize in the Western U.S. Corn-Belt: I. On-farm yield, yield-potential, and impact of management practices. Field Crops Research. 2011; 120: 142-150.
Grassini P, Yang H, Irmak S, Thorburn J, Burr C, Cassman KG. High-yield irrigated maize in the Western U.S. Corn-Belt: II. Irrigation management and crop water productivity. Field Crops Research. 2011; 120: 133-141.
Guo LB, Li CM, Hu W, Zhou YS, Zhang BY, Cai ZX, et al. Plasma confinement by hemispherical cavity in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Applied Physics Letters. 2011; 98:131501.
Gupta L, Kota S, Yarlagadda P, and Molfese D, Central-tendency estimation and nearest-estimate classification of event related potentials. Pattern Recognition Journal. 2011; 44(7):1418-1425.
Hong S, Ryoo JH, Bart W. Longitudinal analysis of performance pay for special education student group achievement. Korean Society of Special Education. 2011; 43(4):219-236.
Hong S, Ryoo JH. The effect of performance pay on school-level achievement: evidence for Minnesota public schools. Teacher Education Research. 2011; [In press].
Huff DD Miller LM, Chizinski CJ, Vondracek B. Mixed-source reintroductions lead to outbreeding depression in the second generation descendents of a native North American fish. Molecular Ecology. 2011; 20(20): 4246-4258
Johnson RJ, Jedlicka JA, Quinn JE, Brandle JR. Global perspectives on birds in agricultural landscapes. Pages 55-140 In: Campbell WB, Ortiz SL, eds. Issues in Agroecology—Present Status and Future Prospectus, Volume 1: Integrating Agriculture, Conservation and Ecotourism: Examples from the Field. 2011. Springer; 2011:55-140
Kang, NK, DeChenne, SE, & Smith, G. Inquiry learning of high school students through a problem-based environmental health science curriculum. School Science and Mathematics. 2011 [In press]
continued on page 5
Postdoc Publications in 2011, continued
Kirsten A, Herzberg M, Voigt A, Seravalli J, Grass G, Scherer J, Nies DH. Contributions of five secondary metal uptake systems to metal homeostasis of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34. J Bacteriol. 2011 Sep; 193(18): 4652-63.
Kasaikina MV, Kravtsova MA, Lee BC, Seravalli J, Peterson DA, Walter J, Legge R, Benson AK, Hatfield DL, Gladyshev VN. Dietary selenium affects host selenoproteome expression by influencing the gut microbiota. FASEB J. 2011 Jul; 25(7): 2492-9.
Kasaikina MV, Lobanov AV, Malinouski MY, Lee BC, Seravalli J, Fomenko DE, Turanov AA, Finney L, Vogt S, Park TJ, Miller RA, Hatfield DL, Gladyshev VN. Reduced utilization of selenium by naked mole rats due to a specific defect in GPx1 expression. J Biol Chem. 2011 May 13; 286(19): 17005-14.
Kuroishi T, Rios-Avila L, Pestinger V, Wijeratne SS, Zempleni J. Biotinylation is a natural, albeit rare, modification of human histones. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 2011 Sep 3; doi:10.1016/j.ymgme.2011.08.030 [In press]
Lee BC, Lobanov AV, Marino SM, Kaya A, Seravalli J, Hatfield DL, Gladyshev VN. A 4-selenocysteine, 2-selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) element methionine sulfoxide reductase from Metridium senile reveals a non-catalytic function of selenocysteines. J Biol Chem. 2011 May 27; 286(21): 18747-55.
Malinouski M, Kehr S, Finney L, Vogt S, Carlson BA, Seravalli J, Jin R, Handy DE, Park TJ, Loscalzo J, Hatfield DL, Gladyshev VN. High-Resolution Imaging of Selenium in Kidneys: a Localized Selenium Pool Associated with Glutathione Peroxidase 3. Anti- oxid. Redox Signal. 2011 Aug 19.
Meagher MM, Seravalli JG, Swanson ST, Ladd RG, Khasa YP, Inan M, Harner JC, Johnson SK, Van Cott K, Lindsey C, Wannemacher R, Smith LA. Process development and cGMP manufacturing of a recombinant ricin vaccine: An effective and stable recombinant ricin a-chain vaccine-RVEc™. Biotechnol Prog. 2011 Apr 20. doi: 10.1002/btpr.631
Nalbantoglu OU, Sayood K. Computational Genomic Signatures. Morgan & Claypool Publishers, 2011.
Nalbantoglu OU, Way SF, Hinrichs SH, Sayood K. RAIphy: phylogenetic classification of metagenomics samples using iterative refinement of relative abundance index profiles. BMC Bioinformatics. 2011; 12:41.
Natarajan C, Jiang X, Fago A, Weber RE, Moriyama H, Storz JF. Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli. PLoS One. 2011; 6(5):e20176.
Panda D, Das A , Dinh PX, Subramaniam S, Nayak D, Barrows NJ, Pearson JL, Thompson J, Kelly DL, Ladunga I, Pattnaik AK. RNAi Screening Reveals A Requirement for Host Cell Secretory Pathway in Infection by Diverse Families of Negative-Strand RNA Viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. doi:10.1073/pnas.1113643108 [In press]
Park JB, Xiong W, Gao Y, Qian M, Xie ZQ, Zhou YS, et al. Fast growth of graphene patterns by laser direct writing, Applied Physics Letters. 2011; 98:123109.
Park JB, Xioing W, Xie ZQ, Gao Y, Qian M, Zhou YS, et al. Transparent interconnections formed by rapid single-step fabrication of graphene patterns. Applied Physics Letters. 2011; 99: 053103.
Pestinger V, Wijeratne SS, Rodriguez-Melendez R, Zempleni J. Novel histone biotinylation marks are enriched in repeat regions and participate in repression of transcriptionally competent genes. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 2011; 22(4):328-33.
Quinn JE, J. Brandle, Johnson R, and Tyre A. Accounting for detectability in the use and application of indicator species: A case study with birds. Ecological Indicators. 2011, 11; 1413-1418.
Rios-Avila L, Prince SA, Wijeratne SS, Zempleni J. A 96-well plate assay for high-throughput analysis of holocarboxylase synthetase activity. Clinica Chimica Acta. 2011; 412(9-10):735-739.
Roy DLe, Yang W, Yin X, Lai RY, Liou, SH, Sellmyer DJ. High-sensitivity detector for molecular sensing using magnetic particles, Journal of Applied Physics. 2011; 109: 07E532.
Ryoo JH. Model selection with the linear mixed model for longitudinal data. Multivariate Behavioral Research. 2011; 46(4):598-624.
Sadras V, Grassini P. Status of water use efficiency of main crops. FAO Land and Water: Status and Trends. FAO. 2011; [In press]
Storz JF, Natarajan C, Cheviron ZA, Hoffmann FG, Kelly JK. Altitudinal variation at duplicated β-globin genes in Deer mice: effects of selection, recombination, and gene conversion. Genetics. 2011; doi: 10.1534/genetics.111.134494 [In press]
Thompson J, MacMillan M, Boegler K, Wood C, Elder JH, Vandewoude S. Pathogenicity and rapid growth kinetics of feline immuno deficiency virus are linked to 3′ elements. PLoS One. 2011; 6(8):e24020.
Wu N, He X, Wysocki AL, et al. Imaging and Control of Surface Magnetization Domains in a Magnetoelectric Antiferromagnet. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2011; 106, 087202.
Wysocki AL, Belashchenko, KD, Antropov, VP. Nature Phys. 7, 482 (2011).
Xu YZ, Arrieta-Montiel MP, Virdi KS, de Paula WB, Widhalm JR, Basset GJ, Davila JI, Elthon TE, Elowsky CG, Sato SJ, Clemente TE, Mackenzie SA. MutS HOMOLOG1 is a nucleoid protein that alters mitochondrial and plastid properties and plant response to high light. Plant Cell. 2011; 23(9):3428-41.
Yang W, Lai RY.Comparison of the Stem-Loop and Linear Probe-Based Electrochemical DNA Sensors by Alternating Current Voltammetry and Cyclic Voltammetry. Langmuir. 2011; [In press] Yang W, Lai RY. Integration of two different sensing modes in an electrochemical DNA sensor for approximation of target mismatch location. Electrochemistry Communications. 2011; 13 (9): 989-992.
Yang W, Lai RY. Effect of diluent chain length on the performance of the electrochemical DNA sensor at elevated temperature. Analyst. 2011; 136:134-139.
Yuan Y, Reece TJ, Sharma P, Poddar S, Ducharme S, Gruverman A, Yang Y, Huang J. Efficiency enhancement in organic solar cells with ferroelectric polymers. Nature Materials. 2011; 10:296-302.
Zhao S, Yang W, Lai RY. A folding-based electrochemical aptasensor for detection of vascular endothelial growth factor in human whole blood. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2011; 26:2442-2447.
Would you like to feature your creative works in future issues of The Postdoc Perspective? Send us an email.
"The Creative Postdoc"
orPostdocs: More than just research
Dipterocarp forest in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysian Borneo. Photo by N Beckman.
Malaysian Borneo Photography
Dr. Noelle Beckman, a postdoc in the School of Biological Sciences investigates the roles of plant-animal, plant-microbe, and plant-plant interactions in limiting plant populations and maintaining diversity of temperate and tropical ecosystems.
Dr. Beckman spent 4 months in Malaysian Borneo initiating a project to examine leaf decomposition across a soil gradient, and in that time she captured some beautiful photos of the diverse landscape. Thanks to Dr. Beckman for sharing these photos with us.
Canopy crane at Lambir Hills National Park. Photo by N Beckman.
Noelle at Nibong waterfall in Lambir Hills National Park. Photo by Pim Tiansawat.
Twenty-two meter tree tower on the Pantu Trail. Photo by N Beckman.
Latak waterfall, 25 meters high. Photo by N Beckman.
Postdoc Travel Grant
Very few research institutions in the U.S. have travel grants available for the exclusive use of postdocs. Thanks to the Postdoctoral Advisory Council, the University of Nebraska Foundation, and generous donors, UNL postdocs can now apply for travel funding. Earlier this year we initiated a travel grant program to help postdocs defray travel costs. In its first 9 months, the grants program awarded a total of over $3,000 to postdoctoral scholars traveling to present their research and develop professional networks.
We sat down with two of these postdocs to find out what impact participating in their respective meetings had.
Dr. Mario Mongiardini
, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
In November I traveled to the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado, to present a paper at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition. Besides sharing my research with peers, I expanded my professional network for potential future collaborations. I was also introduced to the ASME Old Guard and Engineers without Borders, useful for my professional growth and service to the community, respectively. Thanks to the Office of Postdoctoral Studies for providing this helpful support.
Dr. Irina Agarkova
, Plant Pathology
The International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) holds its meetings every three years. The IUMS 15th Virology Congress was held September 11–16 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The congresses brought together a wide range of research; not only viruses that threaten human health, but also viruses essential to ecological processes.
I research immediate-to-early events of Chlorovirus infection. Chloroviruses are large, plaque-forming viruses that replicate in certain green algae. Green unicellular algae have been attracting a lot of attention lately as a potential source of renewable energy, but this new technology may be constrained by a rise in algae diseases.
At IUMS I presented findings relating to the infection initiation mechanism. My experiments demonstrated that both attachment and attachment/wall digestion events are reversible. This is very unusual for viruses that infect eukaryotic organisms.
Attending and presenting my research at the IUMS meeting was an extraordinarily rare opportunity. It gave me a chance to meet, discuss and share knowledge with prominent scientists working in a field of virus infection initiation. I thank the UNL Office of Postdoctoral Studies for the travel grant that made it possible.
Donate to the Postdoc Travel Grant Fund
- Visit the University of Nebraska Foundation website.
- Search funds for "post-doctoral"
- Click the fund name and enter donation information.
Our goal is to establish the postdoc travel grant program as a permanent endowment. Please help us raise awareness for this giving opportunity.
Postdocs New to UNL
Dr. Jun Dai joined Dr. Xiaocheng Zeng's group in the Department of Chemistry.
Dr. Constance Ahowesso Fontaine began work in August with Concetta DiRusso in the Department of Biochemistry. Constance is working on characterizing lead compounds for use as anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drugs. She did her graduate work at the University of Paris in the Laboratory of Biological Rhythms and Cancer.
Dr. Daisuke Goto started in September in the School of Biological Sciences. He is working on a project that is investigating fish population dynamics in Nebraska riverine systems using a spatially explicit, individual-based model. Daisuke is originally from Fukuoka, Japan.
Dr. Mohammad Ali Nilforooshan started in September in the Department of Statistics. He is currently working on the identification of QTL for microbiome traits and the incorporation of marker breeding values into genetic evaluation of beef cattle. Mohammad is originally from Esfahan, Iran, and Uppsala, Sweden.
Dr. Kristin Rispoli started in September 2011 in the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools. She is working on several projects focused on early childhood education, professional development, and family engagement. These include the Pre3T and Getting Ready projects, as well as other work examining family-school partnerships. Kristin is originally from Pittsburgh, Penn.
Dr. Aaron Schmitz joined the Department of Agronomy & Horticulture in November. He's working on multiple projects focused on crop (rice & maize) abiotic stress tolerance. He graduated from Michigan State University.
We know there are more new postdocs than this! If you're a new postdoc, let us know you're here!
From the National Stage
PERM: A Traditional Approach to the Green Card Process
Adapted from The POSTDOCket, a quarterly publication of the National Postdoc Association (NPA). Used with permission.
When individuals look into obtaining a Green Card in the United States, they invariably hear about getting “sponsored” for a Green Card. But where does the idea of being sponsored for a green card come from, and how does it differ from other methods?
The process by which an employer sponsors a Green Card is called the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM).
This article serves as a broad overview and description of the PERM process and should not be construed as forming legal advice or as the basis for an application. For more information, contact an International Scholar Advisor in the Office of International Affairs (IA).
- A U.S. employer makes a request to the Department of Labor for a prevailing wage determination, and attests that they will pay the appropriate wage for the position as determined by the Department of Labor.
- The employer must follow a specified period of recruitment including (but not limited to) a state job order, a newspaper or journal advertisement, and an internal job posting.
- A recruitment report is prepared, listing the reasons for rejecting any U.S. citizens or permanent residents during the recruitment.
- The employer can then files ETA Form 9089 to the Department of Labor for review. Supporting documents are not required unless requested under an application audit.
- After the Department of Labor certifies the application the employer has 180 days to file it with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with Form I-140, or the certification will expire.
- USCIS will process the application for permanent residence.
by Adam Frank, Esq. and Brendan Delaney, Esq.; Leavy, Frank & Delaney, LLC, specializing in immigration law.