Georgia State University
Postdoctoral Network
ABOUT THE GSU PDN
President's Welcome
Greetings and Welcome to the Georgia State University Postdoctoral Network website!
The GSU-PDN was founding in 2014 as a way to promote cross-campus collaboration and networking among postdocs at GSU.
We currently have approximately 100 postdocs on campus in a wide variety of disciplines including the sciences, humanities, and education. ​
Our events include both informal and formal opportunities to present data and network, as well as social events. In the past these have included lunchtime seminars, happy hours, and various cultural events in Atlanta.
Please feel free to contact me, or anyone else on the GSU-PDN leadership team for more questions or if you would like to become more involved with the PDN.
Sincerely,

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Dr. Melanie Peffer
PDN President
Our Philosophy
The Georgia State University Postdoctoral Network connects postdoctoral associates across campus to promote collaboration and collegiality to maintain Georgia State University as a world class research institution.
Our History
Founded in 2014, the PDN is a new venture to help all GSU Postdocs to connect and thrive. Whether you come from the Arts & Sciences, Education, Law, or any other discipline, we hope that you join our community and let your voice be heard on campus.
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Your PDN Leadership
Melanie Peffer, Ph.D.
President
Melanie earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. Her doctoral work examined the impact of synthetic glucocorticoids on neural stem/progenitor cells. Melanie is currently a postdoctoral associate in the College of Education working with Dr. Maggie Renken. Her research integrates her expertise in both molecular biology with the learning sciences to create a synergistic program of study aimed at improving genetics education. Melanie also studies students' science epistemologies when engaged in a simulated authentic science inquiry environment called SCI. Melanie developed SCI while in graduate school. Melanie lives in Decatur with her husband and two cats.
Stay tuned! Under construction...
Laura Szymanski, Ph.D.
Vice President for Social Events and Community Outreach
Lisa Krishnamurthy, Ph.D.
Vice President for Post-Doc Professional Development
Lisa is in the GSU department of Physics & Astronomy, and develops new tools of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to study the human brain. She earned her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the joint program at UT Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center, where her dissertation topic was on measuring blood oxygen saturation in the human brain in vivo. Though a GSU postdoc, her main office is located on the Georgia Tech campus at the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI), which is a joint venture between the two universities. Lisa enjoyes yoga, hiking, and good food.