The takeaway:
Postdoctoral scholars play a vital role in making scientific discovery possible. At the 2026 Postdoc Research Day, scholars reflected on their work and journeys to this point in their careers.
On July 9, hundreds of campus community members gathered inside and outside the Donald M. Elliman Conference Center in the Anschutz Health Sciences Building to celebrate the professional and research achievements of the university’s postdoctoral scholars.
The annual Postdoc Research Day proceedings included six packed rows of detailed research posters, a buzz of conversations around networking and sponsor tables, and countless looks of pride (with only hints of tiredness) across the scholars’ faces.
What are postdoctoral scholars?
The postdoctoral experience is similar to a residency for recent medical school graduates. Postdocs gain additional training, mentorship and expand their research interests. A postdoctoral position serves as a unique transition point in the careers of researchers and formative to the growth and development of the next generation of health science leaders, opening up opportunities for a career in academia, government or private industry research and more. The average length of a postdoctoral program at CU Anschutz is two years but can last up to five.
“Postdocs are on the front lines of our research as a campus,” said Bruce Mandt, PhD, director of the postdoctoral and career development offices and associate dean of the Graduate School. “So many of these postdocs are investigating precise areas of scientific advancement,” he said. “That incremental change and discovery opens up so much more understanding of the mechanics of how things in the health sciences work.”
Postdocs play a vital role on any academic medical campus, said Mandt, himself a University of Colorado Anschutz graduate and former postdoctoral fellow who specialized in psychopharmacology. “They are often critical to what makes the major grants, awards and ultimately advancements and treatments in healthcare possible.”
For many, tenacity combined with their initial inspiration to join the health sciences field appear to have fueled their success. A refrain among those who submitted their research to the event’s poster session: passion for their work that started early on in their lives.
From being curious about how the electricity in the human brain functions, to wanting to be a geneticist after watching “Jurassic Park” as a kid (even though they don’t work with dinosaurs now), the wide variety of initial inspirations subsequently led to a similarly diverse set of research interests.
The 356-person postdoctoral cohort at CU Anschutz features representation from 28 campus schools, departments and divisions. A third are also international students, stressing the importance of science as a collaborative team sport across borders as well.
Poster session
52 postdoc scholars presented their findings at the 2026 Postdoctoral Research Day. From the survival strategies of bacteria to age-related macular degeneration, the findings across the dozens of postdoctoral presenters represented a wide swath of expertise and discoveries.
Despite the diverse backgrounds and research interests, many of the postdoctoral students at the event mentioned one item they have in common: the importance of getting an opportunity to explore professional interests.
Danielle Siegel, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center who focuses on biomechanics in her own work, noted there are two aspects with the program that make it special.
“It’s an opportunity to have freedom, with backup and support,” said Siegel, who also served as this year’s chair of the Postdoc Research Day’s planning committee. “You get to go from a more contained program with your PhD, to go out and explore into a field that you are really passionate about, all while having the support and resources of an institution like CU Anschutz.”
Often, that support took the form of expanding on previous research the postdoctoral scholars had been curious about and investigating earlier in their academic careers.
Jonathan Beausejour, PhD, who studies grip strength and muscle response as a window into healthy aging, said he was excited about working on his postdoc work at CU Anschutz because of new exposure to apply his doctoral dissertation.
In addition to the poster session, Postdoctoral Research Day featured:
Table discussions, vendors and workshops to help postdoctoral scholars grow their skills and networks.
The keynote address by Luiz E. Bertassoni, DDS, PhD, from Oregon Health and Science University. A former postdoctoral fellow as well, Bertassoni built his research on 3D bioprinting from work he started as a PhD student.
“The chance to do practical clinical work was massive," Beausejour said. “To take the models from my dissertation from the lab into a clinical environment has been great. Taking that alongside the mentorship and being exposed to such a large collection of smart people to learn and grow from has been an amazing experience.”
Postdoctoral scholars at CU Anschutz have been winning awards and recognition on a national level, but Research Day also recognized them with an award ceremony to close the proceedings.
Galen Squiers, PhD, Dermatology, 1st Place Poster, First-Year Postdoc Category
Danielle Jeffrey, PhD, Anesthesiology, 2nd Place Poster, First-Year Postdoc Category
Lucy Fry, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, 3rd Place Poster, First-Year Postdoc Category
Joseph Benthal, PhD, Biomedical Informatics, 3rd Place Poster, First-Year Postdoc Category
Clara Mutschler, PhD, Cell & Developmental Biology, 1st Place Poster, Continuing Postdoc Category
Kailee Rutherford, PhD, Biomedical Informatics, 2nd Place Poster, Continuing Postdoc Category
Molly Zych, PhD, Cellular and Developmental Biology, 3rd Place Poster, Continuing Postdoc Category
Tal Keidar Haran, MD, Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1st Place Lightning Talk Presentation
Elisa Redman, PhD, National Jewish Health, 2nd Place Lightning Talk Presentation
Lorien Salyer, PhD, Division of Cardiology, People's Choice Lightning Talk Presentation