Community Engagement team

Ipsita Mohanty, Ph.D. - Co-Vice Chair of Community Engagement

Department: School of Pharmacy.

Role in PDA: I am serving as the vice chair of community engagement in PDA.

My research: I try to intercept the communication between gut microbes and the host by discovering their signaling molecules using mass spectrometry.

About me: I love meeting new people and organizing events, and as part of PDA, I hope to do both and contribute my time to making the postdoc community more connected.  In my time outside of research, I enjoy cooking and eating food from different cultures!  

Fun fact: I have done sky diving and bungee jumping in spite of being scared of heights!  

Contact: ipmohanty@health.ucsd.edu

Theresa Rohm, Ph.D. - Co-Vice Chair of Community Engagement

trohm@health.ucsd.edu

Department: Medicine

My research in 12 words or less: Unpuzzling how immune cells communicate in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Favorite thing about the PDA: As a former president of the Ph.D./Postdoc Happy Hour of the University of Basel in Switzerland, I am eager to take on the role of the Vice Chair of Community Engagement at UCSD. My primary goal is to strengthen the networking environment for Postdocs and other young professionals in Science. I am excited to work closely with the PDA Board to organize regular networking and team-building events, build community partnerships with external organizations, and create memorable occasions, such as the annual Volunteer Appreciation celebration, the New Year’s Networking Event, and the Postdoctoberfest.