18th NPA Annual Conference

• NPA member, postdoc or graduate student: $199
• NPA member, non-postdoc/Sustaining Member primary contact: $299
• Non-member: $399

Click here to become a member of the NPA!

• NPA member, postdoc or graduate student: $249
• NPA member, non-postdoc/Sustaining Member primary contact: $349
• Non-member: $449

Click here to become a member of the NPA!

Chris Gunter, Ph.D., is the senior advisor for genomics engagement at the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the head of the Engagement Methods Unit in the Social Behavioral Research Branch. She earned her doctorate in human genetics at Emory University and then completed both postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve University. Following that, she worked in editorial positions for Human Molecular Genetics, Science, and Nature, and currently serves at the preprint server bioRxiv and the journal CSHL Molecular Case Studies. Her work has two major foci: scientific studies on autism genetics, and development and measurement of science communication methods.

Cristina Rabadán-Diehl, Ph.D., is a multidisciplinary scientist with over 30 years of experience working in academia, government and the private sector. She spent more than 20 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an intramural scientist and program administrator, managing scientific and global health programs and directing the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Office of Global Health. As an intramural scientist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), she conducted independent research on the molecular and physiological aspects of the stress response with a particular focus on the neuroendocrine system and the brain. During her years at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, she worked in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, as a scientific program director managing a $150M portfolio of research grants, cooperative agreements and contracts. She also directed the NHLBI Office of Global Health and managed a $42M research network of Centers of Excellence in developing countries in partnership with U.S. academic institutions. During her tenure at the NIH, she was the Hispanic spokesperson for several campaigns and prevention programs and worked with Offices of Communications.

After leaving the NIH, she held the position of director of the western hemisphere at the Office of Global Affairs, Office of Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She worked with all counties in the Americas region and international multilateral organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and the G20, on policy issues representing the United States of America. Rabadan-Diehl played key roles in advancing U.S. government health priorities around the world by levering her technical and policy knowledge and interacting with many stakeholders including scientists and Ministers of Health. She was the HHS Secretary’s representative to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission and the technical advisor to the HHS deputy secretary during his participation at the WHO High Level Non-Communicable Disease Commission.

Currently, she is an associate director for clinical trials at Westat, a contracting research organization (CRO), and the principal investigator of a clinical trial sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). She provides scientific expertise and guidance to the clinical trials practice and is involved in multi-site international clinical trials.

Rabadan-Diehl is involved in addiction and substance use disorders. She is a member of the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Council (Montgomery County, Maryland) and collaborates with the WHO on these topic areas. She is an ambassador for Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States and a member of Surviving Our Ultimate Loss (S.O.U.L.), an organization aiming to help parents cope with the loss of a child to drug overdose.

Rabadán-Diehl holds a PharmD from the School of Pharmacy at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid, Spain), a doctoral degree in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Miami (Miami, FL, USA) and a Masters in Public Health and a Certificate in Health Communications from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (Baltimore, Maryland, USA). She is an adjunct professor and the director of the Global Health Diplomacy course at George Washington University.

The NPA’s Annual Conference is the largest international conference and networking event dedicated to the postdoctoral community. As a sponsor of our Annual Conference, we provide you with an invaluable opportunity to interact with postdocs, postdoc office administrators, government agencies, and industry representatives. Your organization will have the opportunity to discuss policy, enhance career development, and effect meaningful change in local and/or national postdoctoral communities. Sponsoring our event is a great opportunity to reach and interact with this community to build long-lasting, collaborative relationships.

Organizations who wish to engage with postdoctoral scholars, postdoctoral program administrators, graduate students considering postdoctoral research positions, faculty, and anyone with a vested interest in postdoctoral scholars.

The NPA is proud to announce the creation of new awards to recognize the outstanding work of postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) in the fight against COVID-19. Today, postdocs are working hard to bring innovative ideas to directly impact the pandemic and are often doing so with little recognition. Through the Pandemic Warrior Awards, the NPA and its key sponsors will showcase work of postdocs to better understand, battle, and develop solutions to the myriad of scientific, social, economic, and additional challenges created by COVID-19.

The NPA invites your organization to become a title sponsor of these important and highly-publicized awards. Award winners will be announced during the 19th NPA Annual Conference taking place April 15-16, 2021 on a virtual platform. The conference is the nation’s premier event dedicated to the postdoctoral community and attended by postdocs, university and science institute administrators, faculty, and representatives from disciplinary societies, industry, and corporations.

Interested organizations should contact Tom Kimbis, Executive Director and CEO of the NPA, at tkimbis@nationalpostdoc.org or 202-714-3737 as soon as possible for more details and to secure naming rights.