Early Career Scientist Symposium 2026

General Information

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The UC Riverside Postdoctoral Association (RPA) holds an annual Early Career Scientist Symposium (ECSS) featuring oral and poster presentations and invited speakers.

The 2026 STEM-Humanities ECSS was held on June 17th, 2026, at the Genomics Building Auditorium, UCR Campus in Riverside, CA.

Why to Participate?

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The ECSS is a great opportunity for professional development and networking within the UCR community. The goals of this event are for you to:

• Communicate your research
• Explore the diversity of research performed at UCR
• Collaborate with other postdocs and graduate students
• Invent a world-changing idea

The symposium provides a unique opportunity to get more out of your UCR experience than spending days and nights in the lab, field, or office.

Symposium Highlights

Thank you to all speakers, presenters, judges, volunteers, and attendees who made the 2026 Early Career Scientist Symposium a success.

📸 Photo Gallery

Browse photos from keynote talks, poster sessions, networking activities, and the award ceremony.

Click to open Google Drive album →

🏆 Award Winners

Poster

1st: Dr. Reuben Franklin, Dept. of Biochemistry

2nd: Dr. Teresa Ubina, Dept. of Biomedical Sciences

3rd: Joseph Akolgo, Dept. of Entomology

Oral

1st: María Abizanda, Dept. of English

2nd: Makayla Drew, Dept. of Botany and Plant Sciences

3rd: Dr. Arman Garcia, Dept. of Chemistry

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran

Department of Entomology, UCR

Morning Keynote
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Dr. Elizabeth Rowen

Department of Entomology, UCR

Afternoon Keynote
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Panel Discussion Speakers

Dr. Vlad Sirbu

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Dr. Amancio De Souza

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Albert Nguyen

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Eligibility, Selection, and Awards

The RPA invites the postdoc community (postdoctoral/visiting scholars and project scientists) and graduate students in STEM and Humanities to actively participate in the upcoming symposium:

• 🗣️ Oral presentations are primarily open to postdoctoral/visiting scholars and project scientists. Graduate students may also be considered for the oral presentation session depending on the number of applicants and the quality of abstracts. The Evaluation Committee will select the eight most relevant abstracts for oral presentations. Each speaker will have 15 minutes to present and 5 minutes to address questions. The remaining abstracts will be considered in the selection for the poster session.

• 🪧 Poster presentations are open to postdoctoral/visiting scholars, project scientists, and graduate students. The poster session will provide an opportunity for presenters to showcase their research and engage in discussions with attendees from across STEM and Humanities disciplines.

• 🏆 Research awards will be presented to the best oral and poster presentations: $500, $300, and $200 for best three oral presentations, and $200, $150, and $100 for the best three poster presentations. The awards will be transferred to each winner’s department for research-related expenses.

Consult abstract, talk, and poster guidelines here .

Symposium Program

Symposium Program

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