National Postdoctoral Association

The NPA is committed to addressing the issues and special needs of the International Postdoc community. To assist in this effort, the NPA created the position of International Officer. The International Officer is the primary resource and expert advisor for the NPA Board of Directors, the staff, and committees. If you have interest in immigration policy, tax law, visa issues, or other matters affecting international postdocs, please contact the International Officers.

The specific responsibilities of the NPA International Officer include the following:

• Assist in the development and maintenance of NPA resources for international postdocs
• Advocate for the interests of international postdocs training in the US
• Maintain and expand relationships with federal agencies and national organizations that have an interest in international postdoctoral policies
• Monitor external policies and developments on international issues of concern to the postdoctoral community
• Address public inquiries about the NPA's policies and recommended practices for international postdocs

Meet the International Officers

Yi Cai, Ph.D.
International Officer
(Contact)

Yi Cai received his B.S. in Biology from Wuhan University and M.S. in Genetics from Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology, China. In 2007, he obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow studying cancer epigenetics in the laboratory of Dr. Steve B. Baylin at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He became active in the NPA in 2009.

Virna Dapic, Ph.D.
International Officer
(Contact)

Virna Dapic, originally from Croatia, obtained her BS in Biology from Northland College, in Ashland Wisconsin and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). After a short postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Louisville, in 2003 she accepted a postdoctoral position at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. During her graduate studies she participated and held a leadership role in the UAB industry Round Table, which provided a venue to explore careers for scientists, which were at the time considered alternative. During her postdoctoral fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute she was one of the founding members of the Moffitt Postdoctoral Association (MPDA) which was created in 2005. She served as the MPDA chair and later served on the advisory board. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Postdoctoral Association travel award for her contribution to the creation of a successful and sustainable postdoctoral association. She left bench research in 2007 and is currently working for a Bio/IT company in the Washington, DC area. Virna has special interest in topics pertaining to career development of scientists.