On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the Alumni House Patio came alive with upbeat music, celebration, and community as postdoctoral scholars gathered for PostdocFest 2026. Hosted by the Visiting Scholar and Postdoc Affairs Program (VSPA), the signature event served as the centerpiece of UC Berkeley's National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW), celebrated from September 14–18. This year's festivities marked a historic national milestone: 150 years of postdoctoral research excellence in the United States since the first fellowships were established in 1876.
Postdocs from across disciplines reconnected with peers in the heart of campus while enjoying delicious fare from Ann's Catering, listening to vibrant sets by DJ Ben of DJ Works LLC, and winning cool Cal swag raffle prizes. The highlight of the celebration was the formal presentation of the 2026 NPAW Awards by Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Richard Allen.
Honoring Outstanding Mentorship and Total Scholars
Following opening remarks from VSPA Director Cecilia Fura, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Richard Allen addressed the crowd, emphasizing the indispensable role postdocs play in driving Berkeley's research enterprise and global impact. Drawing on his own experience as a former postdoc, IVCR Allen shared that he knows firsthand how postdocs serve as the true lifeblood of the university's research mission. He expressed deep gratitude for their relentless dedication and daily contributions across every corner of campus before presenting the 2026 NPAW Awards.
2026 Faculty Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Winner
IVCR Allen first presented the 2026 Faculty Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring, which carries a $3,000 prize. In nominating Chemistry Professor Dean Toste for the 2026 Faculty Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring, his postdoc highlighted Toste's transformative mentorship, which balances scientific rigor with genuine personal investment. Despite leading a diverse research group of over 70 members, Toste creates an accessible, supportive environment where scholars are empowered to pursue independent research directions while receiving rigorous feedback. Beyond providing critical research infrastructure that led to a promising patent application, Toste was celebrated for his holistic support, including industry connections, support through family career transitions, and active improvement of lab culture. His nominator emphasized that Toste's true strength as a mentor lies in investing in the postdoc as a whole person, not just the project.
2026 Postdoctoral Achievement Award Winners
The ceremony then turned to the 2026 Postdoc Achievement Awards. In response to a record-breaking 35 nominations from postdocs across campus honoring those they felt most deserved recognition, VSPA expanded its funding to recognize six outstanding "Total Scholars" for their research, leadership, and impact on the community, presenting each with a $1,000 prize.
Dr. Yifeng Shi (Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences): Highlighted in her peer nomination for pioneering inorganic chemistry applications in DNA origami, Dr. Shi was commended for managing lab safety for the past three years and serving her second term as President of the Postdoc Teaching Opportunities Program. Her nomination also celebrated her deep commitment to community outreach through her volunteer work with the Women's Cancer Resource Center and Scientific Adventures for Girls.
Dr. Felix Brandt (Mathematics): Highlighted in his peer nomination for his extraordinary intellectual ambition and research productivity spanning nonlinear partial differential equations, geophysical fluid dynamics, and stochastic fluid systems. Dr. Brandt was celebrated for publishing five peer-reviewed papers in 2026 in top-tier journals, along with several preprints on complex coupled fluid models. His nomination praised his growing international leadership, marked by his selection as a U.S. Junior Oberwolfach Fellow, Juan de la Cierva Fellow, and invitations to speak across the U.S. and Europe. He was further commended for his generosity as a mentor and colleague, including coordinating a mathematics study center, refereeing for respected journals, and leading outreach programs that encourage high school students to pursue mathematics.
Dr. Alexandra Kent (Molecular & Cell Biology): Highlighted in her peer nomination for her breakthrough ribosome research with the NSF C-GEM center, which yielded high-impact first-author publications, a patent, and a plenary talk at the RNA Society Annual Meeting, Dr. Kent was honored for blending scientific rigor with exceptional warmth. Her nomination praised her deep commitment to mentorship and outreach, noting her creation of a biochemistry bootcamp for Berkeley undergraduates, her hands-on biology programs for homeschooled youth, and bioluminescence workshops reaching over 120 middle-school girls. Fellow postdoc and friend Dr. Chandrima Majumdar accepted the award on behalf of Dr. Kent, who could not attend.
Dr. Sirui Ning (QB3-Berkeley): His peer nomination highlighted him as an outstanding leader and scholar; Dr. Ning was recognized for his research impact as a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, recipient of Berkeley's Postdoc Professional Development Award, and first-place honoree in the 2026 All America Chinese Youth Federation (AACYF) Top 30 Under 30. As BPA President, his nomination praised his tireless service in fostering collaboration and belonging among postdocs across campus. His nomination celebrated his key role in establishing vibrant community traditions, including the inaugural BPA Postdoc Alumni Homecoming and campus hiking series. His peer also commended his co-organization of the QB3-Berkeley Seminar Series and his participation in Popping the Science Bubble, an outreach initiative that shares university research with the local community.
Dr. Jingyi He (Vision Science): Highlighted in her peer nomination as an exceptional scientist and generous colleague who was instrumental in onboarding lab mates to Berkeley. Dr. He was recognized for advancing visual perception research using an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope, earning both the prestigious Center for Innovation in Vision and Optics (CIVO) postdoctoral fellowship and the Berkeley Postdoctoral Professional Development Award. Her nomination commended her research productivity, including multiple peer-reviewed publications and two first-author journal articles, as well as her deep service to the scientific community as chair of the Optica Color Technical Group and an active reviewer who peer-reviewed over 20 articles in the past year. She was further praised for inspiring future scientists through her volunteer work with Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students, introducing elementary school students to vision science.
Dr. Rijul Soans (Vision Science): Celebrated in his peer nomination as an outstanding researcher and generous mentor, Dr. Soans was honored for his first-author publications on retinal image registration and structure-function visual systems, and for receiving the international Elsevier Vision Research Travel Award. His nomination commended his sustained dedication to undergraduate research—having mentored over a dozen students, including three URAP trainees this past year—and praised his leadership in onboarding new lab colleagues. A frequent reviewer for top journals like IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Soans was further recognized for fostering inclusion through the departmental DEI Book Club and sharing vision science with young learners through elementary school outreach.
The awards program of the event concluded with remarks from Berkeley Postdoctoral Association (BPA) President Dr. Sirui Ning, who highlighted the strength and resilience of Berkeley's scholar network. Dr. Ning expressed sincere gratitude to his fellow BPA board members for their hard work over the past year in supporting the postdoc community. He encouraged postdocs in attendance to consider joining the board to help shape future initiatives and invited scholars to apply for the BPA Postdoc Professional Development Award to further recognize their research excellence.
Sandi the Therapy Dog steals the show
VSPA's awesome student team
A huge thank you to Gianna Trezza, Sherry Chen, Peter Lourenco, Steven Vu, and Kylee Wiens! Their behind-the-scenes contributions were essential to PostdocFest's success. From transporting materials between the office and venue late into the evening to executing setup and breakdown, their hard work kept everything running seamlessly.
Photo credit: Brittany Hosea-Small