Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award Recipients

Dr. Becca Campbell is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona specializing in sleep disorders, trauma, and emotion regulation. She is improving sleep disorder assessment through psychometric research and advancing behavioral sleep medicine. Beyond research, she mentors students, advocates for sleep health, and provides pro bono psychological evaluations for asylum seekers. Becca was a featured scientist at Queer’d Science and actively engages in professional and community initiatives.

Dr. Nicole Jimenez graduated with her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 2021. Her graduate work centered on reproductive health research with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Vaginal Microbiome Consortium (VMC). Her research for the VMC encompassed comparative genomics of cervicovaginal bacteria, especially Bifidobacterium species, understanding correlations between the cervicovaginal microbiome in reproductive health and disease and maternal-infant microbial transmission and toddler health progression. She joined the Herbst-Kralovetz lab in the Summer of 2021 and utilizes her passion for advocacy work and science to investigate the urogenital and rectal microbiome with a focus on gynecological conditions. Dr. Jimenez conduct basic science related to host-bacterial interactions with key bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Fannyhessea and their role in the pathophysiology of gynecologic cancers. She also performs data science and multi-omic integration for clinical cohorts involving gynecologic cancer and conditions such as chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis. Dr. Jimenez also integrates her advocacy for research on underrepresented populations to assess gynecologic health disparities within the Latina and Native American communities in Arizona. Dr. Jimenez received the Sydney Hopkins, Mayola B. Vail, and Patricia Ann Hanson Postdoctoral Fellowship, UA Data Science Fellowship, UA BIO5 Fellowship, and recently the American Cancer Society Fellowship to elucidate the role of cervicovaginal bacteria in the development of gynecologic cancers. Dr. Jimenez has leveraged her molecular and data science repertoire to aid in achieving her long-term career goals as a translational microbiome scientist actively engaged in women’s health research.

Dr. Mirin is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics. Her scholarly work focuses on how people reason mathematically and ways to increase equity in STEM education for students with disabilities and other marginalized groups. Dr. Mirin is described as a stellar teacher and mentor and has a strong service record spanning departmental committee membership to national conference organizer. Her nominators state that they are “impressed by the way she integrates her research with her teaching, service, and advocacy activities, by her dedication to being a caring educator, and by her creative use of technology to keep students engaged.”

Dr. Covington is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Digital Humanities and Africana Studies. Her nominators describe her as an “exceptional scholar”. Her research focuses on media representation of Black Youth, especially Black girls in film. During her short time at the University of Arizona, Dr. Covington has been impressively productive, having given numerous presentations, including a keynote address, and published chapters and peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Covington’s passion for community outreach and her natural leadership in support of youth are demonstrated by her service at both the local and national levels. 

Dr. Parkinson is a third-year Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Mathematics. His research focuses on “developing various applications of mathematics to better understand practical concerns arising in the world,” some of which include environmental crime modeling, path-planning algorithms for self-driving vehicles, and modeling of COVID-19 that incorporates social and economic factors. During his time at the University of Arizona, Dr. Parkinson has been impressively productive in his research endeavors while also making valuable contributions to the teaching and mentoring mission of his department. His enthusiasm for sharing his passion for mathematics with the students earned him recognition by being the recipient of the 2022 University of Arizona Mathematics Department Teaching & Service Award.

Dr. Emily Bray is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Arizona Canine Cognition Center and Canine Companions for Independence. Her research explores individual differences in dog behavior and cognition, with the goal of understanding developmental and biological influences on life outcomes. Her work has appeared in top journals like PNAS and Current Biology. As a lead investigator on large-scale, longitudinal studies, she advances rigor in comparative psychology. Dr. Bray is also a dedicated mentor, creating internship programs, guiding undergraduate research, and engaging in public outreach. She holds teaching certificates from Penn and volunteers with educational programs at Duke and beyond.

Dr. Blackwood is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Translational Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. His innovative work focuses on developing large animal models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and advancing pre-clinical gene therapy and drug research. With 18 peer-reviewed publications since 2017 and key roles in NIH grant development, he is poised to lead his own lab. Beyond research, Dr. Blackwood contributes to the scientific community through leadership roles in the International Society for Heart Research and service on university committees, including graduate admissions and biosafety oversight.

Dr. Shivaei’s accomplishments include collaborating in over 42 widely cited peer-reviewed publications, a NASA Hubble Fellowship, and the creation of the Mentorship and Education in SCIence for Tucson (MESCIT) program. MESCIT is a math tutoring and mentorship program for local Native American high school students that aims to reduce the underrepresentation of Native American scholars in STEM fields. This program trains UArizona undergraduate students as math tutors to hold personalized math tutoring sessions at the Ha:sañ Preparatory and Leadership School, a charter high school with predominantly Tohono O’odham students. Dr. Shivaei’s leadership is not limited to serving the Tucson community. She is also the co-founder of Staryab, an astrophysical literature website in Persian that presents astrophysics research to undergraduate students in simple language.

Dr. Rachel Neville received the 2020 Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award for her achievements in mathematical research, teaching, mentoring, and outreach at the University of Arizona. Her work uses topological data analysis to uncover patterns in diverse systems, from melting snow to coral reefs. Mentored by Dr. Alan Newell, she also launched a peer mentoring program for first-year women in STEM. Neville credits a strong support system for her growth as a scholar and educator. In Fall 2020, she began as an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, encouraging postdocs to explore their passions and pursue careers aligned with their values.