PDA BIPOC Postdoc Alliance

On June 8th, 2024 the BIPOC-PA hosted a bowling party at Bowlero Durham! From strikes, to spares, to gutter balls, a buffet of food and drinks, laughter and new friends- we had a great time!! Thank you for coming out!!! Until next time!! #UNCCH #NCCU #NCSU

On April 20th, 2024 the UNC BIPOC Postdoc Alliance partnered with local organizations to participate in the 3rd annual STEAM Unity Day event. Part of the Community 360 organization, this event is open to students in grades 3rd-12th. Director of UNC Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), Dr. LaKeya Hardy, PhD was the lead organizer as she is also a Co-Director of Science Outreach.

Dr. Hardy contacted UNC postdocs to lead 1-hour lessons tied to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)- and we answered! This year there were 6 rooms: Archaeology (led by BIPOC co-chair Jasmine Edwards, PhD), Forensics (led by PDA co-chair Martha Johnson, PhD), Coding, Pharmacology (led by UNC alumni Zayna King, PhD), Poetry, and Crafts. A day full of excitement, the students participated in 3 lessons each, an icebreaker activity, a trivia game, and learned a TikTok dance!

A huge thank you to the UNC Peer Support Core for sponsoring supplies for the Archaeology lesson! Thank you to the volunteers from all over the area, committee chairs Dr. Hardy, Dr. Johnson, and Jessica Burroughs of Community 360, parents, and students for making STEAM Unity Day lit!

Until next year!!

Sponsors: Duke University School of Medicine and School of Engineering, UNC School of Medicine, UNC Peer Support Core, Society for Black Biomedical Scientists, Duke BioCore, Phorward and Black, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

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!! ~Martha Johnson, PhD