The Steering Committee is a group of postdoctoral scholars who regularly take part in meetings, events, and interact with the officers of the UMN-PDA. The Steering Committee are the postdoctoral scholars responsible for shaping postdoctoral policy at the University of Minnesota. Officers are voted on annually and can serve up to three years.

Any postdoc can become a member of the Steering Committee simply by notifying the PDA and showing up for meetings (in person or virtually).

Minutes of all Steering Committee meetings are publicly available at request. 

Interested in volunteering with the PDA? Please email pda@umn.edu or our leadership to ask about getting involved!

Click here to review the PDA's By-Laws, which include a description of each leadership position's roles and responsibilities.

Communications Committee

Chair: 

Heather Cihak, PhD; Department of Mathematics, Center for Educational Programs

Members:

contact pda@umn.edu to join

Policy & Advocacy Committee

Chair: 

CJ Stepek, PhD; Niedernhofer Lab, Masonic Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism (MIBAM)

International Affairs Chairs: 

Vacant - contact pda@umn.edu to join

Members:

Vacant - contact pda@umn.edu to join

Social Committee

Co-Chairs:

Megan Freiler, PhD; Department of Entomology

Wilson Yanez, PhD; School of Physics and Astronomy

Career Development Committee

Chair:

Ziya Xu, PhD; Department of Biostatistics

Previous PDA Officers