PDA BIPOC Postdoc Alliance

On April 6th, 2024 the UNC Postdoctoral Association (PDA) participated in the annual UNC Science Expo. Two booths were set up for the public to enjoy. The BIPOC Postdoc Alliance organized two activities for event-goers: The Science of Skin Color and Minority Scientist You Should Know! Participants learned about the skin cells responsible for skin tone called, melanocytes, how skin tone is influenced by environmental factors based on ancestral homelands, and biological factors that cause skin conditions such as Vitiligo, Albinism and freckles. Many enjoyed our competitive indigenous people matching game! We also discussed historical BIPOC people in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) including Gladys West, Mary G. Ross, Fred Begay, Edward Bouchet, John Herrington, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski and more! Participants and volunteers enthusiastically learned about diverse people in STEAM. Thank you to all the postdoc volunteers, donations received from FlyLeaf Books, and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for your support! Interested in events like this and more? For upcoming events, check out UNC PDA’s Calendar: https://research.unc.edu/postdocs/calendar/ and the BIPOC PA webpage: https://research.unc.edu/pda/bipoc/. Join us every 2nd Thursday of the month at our monthly BIPOC-PA meetings. Email Jasmine_Edwards@med.unc.edu for the link.

On March 20th, 2024 the BIPOC-PA organized the Let’s Give Back event! BIPOC postdocs put together keepsake bags filled with supplies such as food, water, socks, feminine products and more for those in need around the Chapel Hill/Carborro Community. We are happy to help anyway we can and plan to organize more of these events in the future! If you are a postdoc and interested in community service, networking, and social outings- check out the BIPOC Postdoc Webpage and join us at our next event! https://research.unc.edu/pda/bipoc/

This month we highlight postdoctoral researcher Jasmine S Edwards, PhD for the exciting work she had the pleasure of doing in Zambia!! Dr. Edwards is deeply committed to the ZAPPS study, which focuses on preventing preterm birth and other adverse birth outcomes for African women. The laboratory of Kristina De Paris, PhD (Microbiology and Immunology department) collaborates with the UNC Global Women’s Health program which established a pregnancy cohort in Lusaka, Zambia. Her research aims to investigate the impact of HIV and vaginal microbiota on the immunological environment at the maternal-fetal interface and subsequent birth outcomes, including term and preterm births. Through this work, the lab in Zambia strives to capture dynamic “snapshots” of the maternal immunological environment during pregnancy using freshly collected clinical samples. Dr. Edwards spent a month at The University Teaching Hospital’s clinical laboratory optimizing protocols and training personnel to aid in data collection for her project and future projects for master students in Lusaka. Way to go Dr. Edwards!!