Postdoctoral Achievements and Awards

First Place: Dr. Carmine Slipski, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Research Title: Development of a rapid saliva test for detection of oral health

Second Place and People's Choice: Titus Olukitibi, Medical Microbiology and Infecitous Diseases
Research Title: Immune markers associated with the natural clearance of HPV

Third Place: Abhay Srivastava, Physiology and Pathophysiology 
Research Title: Nanotechnology can direct cellular fuel burn and fight inflammation!!!

Meet the challengers here.
2023 Event Program
Watch the event recording here.
Read about the event and winners here.

First Place: Dr. Oladipupo Olatunde, Food Science
Research Title: Novel and ecofriendly methods for sustainable protein production

Second Place: Dr. Abhay Srivastava, Physiology and Pathophysiology
Research Title: Stem cell based personalized drug selection platform can help choose the most effective therapy for patients with rare genetic disorders.

Third Place and People's Choice: Dr. Niketa Sareen, Physiology and Pathophysiology
Research Title: Modulating immunogenicity of stem cells to enhance their post transplantation survival.

Meet the challengers here.
2023 Event Program
Watch the event recording here.
Read about the event and winners here.

University of Manitoba Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Award

2025 Nominations are now closed.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba offers up to three Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow Awards to current/recent UM Postdoctoral Fellows. The goal of this award is to recognize and celebrate Postdoctoral Fellows with innovative research programs who are making outstanding contributions to one or both of knowledge creation and mentorship of junior researchers.

Each calendar year, one award will be offered in each of the following categories: Health Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities. A certificate will be offered in each of the three categories to Postdoctoral Fellows who are/were current Postdoctoral Fellows in the calendar year of the award (i.e. between January 1 and December 31 of the previous calendar year).

Each nomination package must include:
(i) a letter of nomination from the principal investigator who supervises the Postdoctoral Fellow describing the reasons for the nomination, and highlighting the impact of the nominee's contributions (2 page maximum);
(ii) a current curriculum vitae for the nominee; and
(iii) a letter of support from the unit/department head where the Postdoctoral Fellow is appointed. 

The Faculty of Graduate Studies will verify the eligibility of nominees submitted. One application from each department can be submitted, and in order to broaden the impact of these awards, previous winners are not eligible to be nominated again. The selection committee will be named by the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (or designate) and will include an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, three Associate Deans of Research/Graduate Programs from the three areas identified above, and one current Postdoctoral Fellow who is not under consideration for the award in the current competition.

Dr. Alireza Shamkhalchian

Dr. Shamkhalchian’s research in computational hydraulics models addresses challenges related to flood inundation problems, which are particularly important to the province of Manitoba. His work directly addresses the pressing challenges posed by the escalating frequency and intensity of flooding events, making a significant impact on the field and contributing to the safety and resilience of communities in the region, and worldwide.

Dr. Amani Hamad

Dr. Hamad is incorporating machine learning methods to conduct international multi-generational studies about mental illnesses and other chronic conditions.Her work focuses on constructing family health histories for the entire Manitoba population and characterizing the intergenerational transfer of mental illnesses using administrative data housed at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.