Mission Statement
The Ohio State University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) seeks to prepare the next generation of research leaders by enhancing their postdoctoral experience through career development opportunities, advancing the quality of the training environment for scholars, and providing resources and support to faculty mentors. OPA collaborates with faculty, postdocs, administrators, and external entities to support postdocs in all aspects of their training.
Specific objectives of the OPA include:
- Funding Ohio State’s membership to the National Postdoc Association (NPA)
- Providing onboarding support to newly hired postdocs as they orient to the university and to help them learn about available resources and opportunities to support their scholarly activities and professional development
- Assisting faculty who mentor postdocs to develop highly productive and collaborative relationships with postdoc mentees
- Providing offboarding support to postdocs who will soon depart the university
- Collecting and maintaining data on the Ohio State postdoc population
- Organizing and leading career services, professional development, and mentorship events and programs
- Advocacy
Postdoctoral Affairs Team
James GentryDirector of the Office of Postdoctoral AffairsColumbus, OH 43210
Katie McAfeeSr. Academic Program Services SpecialistColumbus, OH 43210
Our Colleagues Across Campus: Postdoctoral Advisory Council (PAC)
The Postdoctoral Advisory Council (PAC) is comprised of faculty and staff from various colleges and departments across the university, who are involved in postdoctoral advocacy and training. The PAC advises and provides input to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) to help with enhancing the postdoctoral experience. The PAC also provides faculty and administrative perspectives to help identify ways in which the OPA can support postdoc mentors. By working with the Postdoctoral Association and the Postdoctoral Advisory Council, the OPA aims to integrate a comprehensive range of feedback in order to best tailor programming and services to accommodate postdocs’ needs.
Current members of PAC include:
College of Arts and Sciences
John Beacom, PhD
Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Director, Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP)
Anthony Nance, PhD
Deputy Director, Mathematical Biosciences Institute
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics
View Anthony Nance's Academic Profile
Brian Orefice, PhD, MA
Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
OPA College Liaison for the College of Arts and Sciences
View Brian Orefice's Academic Profile
Matthew Sullivan, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology
Director, Center of Microbiome Science
View Matthew Sullivan's Academic Profile
College of Education and Human Ecology
Richard Bruno, PhD
Professor, Department of Human Sciences
Program Chair of Human Nutrition, College of Education and Human Ecology
View Richard Bruno's Academic Profile
Kim Lightle, PhD
Director of Research and Administration, Office of Research
OPA College Liaison for the College of Education and Human Ecology
View Kim Lightle's Academic Profile
College of Engineering
La’Tonia Stiner-Jones, PhD, MBA
Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, College of Engineering
Associate Professor (Practice), Department of Biomedical Engineering
Director, Minority Leaders – Research Collaboration Program (ML-RCP), Air Force Research Laboratory
OPA College Liaison for the College of Engineering
View La’Tonia Stiner-Jones' Academic Profile
Rengasayee (Sai) Veeraraghavan, PhD
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
View Rengasayee (Sai) Veeraraghavan's Academic Profile
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Kayla Arnold
Graduate Education Program Manager, CFAES College Administration
OPA College Liaison for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
View Kayla Arnold's Academic Profile
Robyn Wilson, PhD
Professor of Risk Analysis and Decision Science, School of Environmental and Natural Resources
View Robyn Wilson's Academic Profile
College of Medicine
Shyam Bansal, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology
View Shyam Bansal's Academic Profile
Arianne Gabel
Program Coordinator of Medical Education, College of Medicine Administration
OPA College Liaison for the College of Medicine
Postdoctoral Association (PDA)
Established in 2013, the PDA is an organization run by postdoctoral scholar volunteers from all parts of the university community. The purpose of Ohio State's PDA is to address the needs and concerns of its members by:
- Providing representation and liaising between its members and central and college-level administrative entities at the university
- Promoting the academic and non-academic career goals of its members
- Advocating for constructive changes in the research and academic environment and in policies that affect the lives of postdocs and their families
- Building a community of postdocs by promoting interaction between postdocs on academic, social, cultural, and political issues
For more information about the Postdoctoral Association, and to see members of the current leadership committee, please visit the Postdoctoral Association webpage.
Postdoctoral Support Community at Ohio State:
- CCTS: Center for Clinical and Translational Science
- FAME: Center for Faculty Advancement, Mentoring, and Engagement, College of Medicine
- CAMELOT: Comprehensive Cancer Center's Center for Cancer Mentoring, Education, Leadership and Oncology-Related Training
- Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship
- Global Arts + Humanities
- Mershon Center for International Security Studies
- Nationwide Children's Hospital Office of Trainee Affairs
- ODI: Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- The Women’s Place
- WiMS: Women in Medicine and Science
- REACH for Commercialization (formerly ADVANCE)
- Pelotonia Scholars Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Talent and Team Development, Office of Knowledge Enterprise
- The STEAM Factory (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)
- ASCCS: College of Arts and Sciences Career Success
- LEGACY Scholars, College of Engineering
- The Research Commons, University Libraries
- Office of Postdoctoral Research, College of Medicine
- PDA: Postdoctoral Association
- Office of Equity, Diversity, and Global Engagement, College of Education and Human Ecology
Still Have Questions?
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
214D University Hall 230 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210
osupostdocs@osu.edu