Recipients 2026

Since its launch in 2011, the PDF Travel Awards have helped many UBC PDFs attend conferences to present their work, enriching their PDF experience and helping anchor them within the academic world. Please read below to find out more about past award recipients.

Quarter FY 25/26 Q4

Dr. Nan Chen

The 3rd International Canadian Organization for Gender and Sex Research (COGS) Meeting – March 2026

I recently attended the 3rd International COGS Meeting in Toronto, presenting my research poster: “Trends in CIHR investment in women-related cardiovascular research in Canada, 2000–2024”. The Early Career Researcher (ECR) Pre-course was highly significant, as it aligned with my study's interrupted time series analysis of Canada’s SGBA policy impacts. Gaining strategic insights into CIHR grant reviews provided essential context for interpreting my results. Moving forward, these insights will refine my research framework to quantify the societal return on investment of women’s health research in Canada. By understanding the funding landscape, I am better equipped to simulate the entire trajectory from research investment to societal returns, ultimately generating robust evidence and recommendations to inform health policy and resource allocation. Additionally, the conference fostered engagement with fellow ECRs. A colleague's suggestion regarding internal CIHR grant data requests offers a promising pathway for deepening my future research. This experience has provided a strong foundation for advancing my work on the societal returns of women’s health investments.

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Dr. Nicole Knight

Ocean Sciences Meeting – February 2026

At the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland I was able to attend excellent talks and posters on topics highly relevant to my research program, including seagrass ecology, coastal sediment dynamics, and restoration. I also received very useful feedback on my presentation, “Experimentally testing the effects of seagrass-sediment-light feedbacks on seagrass recovery potential in a remote subarctic habitat“, particularly from physical oceanographers, who understand the aspects of my research that extend beyond ecology. During the meeting I had the chance to connect with current collaborators who work at other institutions (Université de Montréal, University of Manitoba) and discuss ongoing research. I also made new connections with other eelgrass ecologists from the United Kingdom that I hope will lead to future knowledge-sharing and possible collaborations. Based on my positive experience at this conference, I plan to submit a session proposal with colleagues for the 2027 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Vancouver. I am very grateful to the Postdoctoral Fellows Office for supporting my attendance of this conference.

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Dr. Kashif Raza

Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain Conference - March 2026

Attending PESGB 2026 at University of Oxford was an intellectually enriching experience that deepened my engagement with the philosophical foundations of education. Presenting my work on "Religious Diversity and Socialization in the Integrative Purpose of Education" allowed me to critically examine how educational systems can move beyond accommodation and socialization toward meaningful integration. The discussions highlighted the tensions between pluralism, social cohesion, and the role of education in shaping democratic belonging. Engaging with leading scholars in this historic academic setting not only refined my arguments but also opened new directions for research on how education can bridge differences while sustaining diverse identities. The conference also provided valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue, strengthening connections between philosophy, policy, and practice in contemporary educational debates.

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Quarter FY 26/27 Q1

Dr. Mona Amer 

Torque 2026 – June 2026

I would like to kindly thank the UBC Postdoctoral Fellows Office for supporting my conference attendance financially that led to valuable discussions and potential collaborations. I attended Torque conference, Europe’s leading wind energy conference, for the first time. More than 700 academics and researchers working on wind energy topics attended from around the globe. The poster presentation, where I presented our work on wind energy in seismic-prone areas, resulted in many fruitful discussions. I presented the research gap and our findings on reliable mode identification with a focus on damping estimation and removal of periodic signal components. I had many interesting conversations, but would like to point out a few highlights. A discussion with Harikesan Baskaran from University College London showed that our research is very timely and needed. The researcher from London works on resilience and confirmed that data from wind turbines in earthquake regions represents a large gap preventing the expansion of wind energy in these areas such as by insurance companies seeking more information. Another discussion with Haijia Chen from Shantou University revealed that they are working on similar topics and we agreed to have a follow up after the conference. Researchers from the German Aerospace Center and my alma mater presented interesting findings as part of their work and we agreed to get together for further exchange and them contributing to the lecture series I am organizing. All in all, it was a very fruitful conference and my participation was extremely beneficial for my future career.

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Dr. Keri Bowering

2026 Canadian Society of Soil Science and Canadian Society of Agronomy Joint Conference - June 2026

I attended and presented at the 2026 Canadian Society of Soil Science (CSSS) and Canadian Society of Agronomy (CSA) joint conference in June 2026. It was a fantastic opportunity to network and share the progress of my research to a Canadian academic audience. The title of my oral presentation was “Quantifying carbon stocks and improving soil health during a blueberry field renovation in British Columbia”. I shared results from an experiment that tested high-bush blueberry field best re-plant practices to improve soil health and quantify carbon stocks and greenhouse gases.  It was especially fitting for us to present this research at the CSSS-CSA joint conference as the project also seeks to address questions of blueberry plant health, and how soil conditions can support or hinder the establishment of new blueberry plants. I received constructive feedback, was able to connect with researchers working in similar fields and share ideas. These discussions will contribute to the development of a peer-reviewed manuscript that I plan to submit by the end of the year, which is a significant milestone at this stage of my postdoctoral fellowship and would not have been possible without the support of the PDFO travel award for postdocs! 

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Dr. Gilciane Ceolin

The British and Irish Longitudinal Studies of Ageing (BILS) Meeting – April 2026

Attending the British and Irish Longitudinal Studies of Ageing (BILS) Meeting in London, UK, was a valuable opportunity to engage with researchers leading major longitudinal aging studies, including the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS), The Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA), The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). I presented my oral presentation, “Inflammation Linking Fruit & Vegetables to Depression” based on analyses using ELSA data conducted alongside my postdoctoral research and supported by Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The meeting provided valuable feedback on my analytical approach, particularly regarding sensitivity analyses and future directions for the project. Its small and collaborative format also allowed meaningful discussions with senior researchers and opportunities for future collaborations in nutrition and healthy aging research. In addition, I spent few days prior to the meeting at University College London (UCL) working with Dr. Paola Zaninotto (my research partner) on project-related analyses, which further strengthened my methodological skills in longitudinal data analysis.

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Dr. Jonah Garde

Austrian Studies Association Conference – May 2026

With the support of the PDF Travel Award I was able to attend the Austrian Studies Association Conference in Salzburg in May 2026. The annual theme of the conference was ‘Austria as Stage – Austria on Stage.’ Attending the conference allowed me to listen to excellent talks and connect with colleagues and collaborators. It was a valuable opportunity to get an overview about current research being undertaken in the field of Austrian studies writ large and in Austrian sexuality studies in particular, with one day of the conference dedicated specifically to this subfield. I was fortunate to present my paper ‘Staging Trans Histories: Curatorial and Cinematic Practices in Austrian Public Culture’ within this stream as well and receive valuable feedback that will help me to develop my argument further. After the conference, I was invited to publish an article based on my paper in a forthcoming volume on Austrian sexualities with the Austrian Studies journal. This is a wonderful opportunity to deepen my scholarship and disseminate it to a broader audience which would not have been possible without the support of the Postdoctoral Fellows Office. 

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Quarter FY 26/27 Q2

Dr. Sarah Bolton

ANZCVS Science Week - July 2026

The Australia New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists annual Science Week conference is one of the premier veterinary conferences attracting attendees from across Australasia and the globe. The PDF Travel Award allowed me to attend this conference in 2026, presenting an abstract on moral distress and human-animal relationships in cattle veterinary practice. This topic has received little in the way of attention in the literature, with our interview study being one of the first to explore such concepts that have important implications for both human and animal wellbing. I was fortunate to have many conference attendees come to the cattle medicine chapter stream specifically to hear my presentation, with the room filling up just prior to my presentation. Following the presentation, I had multiple conversations with attendees who had seen the talk, and felt compelled to underscore the importance of conversations about moral distress across the veterinary profession. This was seen by attendees as particularly important in food animal practice, given the economic limitations and the fact that these practitioners often work in solitude with long days on the road. The conversations following my presentation have led to many potential avenues for future research dissemination and collaboration, for which I am extremely grateful.

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