Oregon State University Postdoctoral Association (OPA)

OPA is a postdoc run organization designed to provide professional development and community for all postdocs at OSU. We offer workshops, events, and even small grants to help you get the most out of your experience while preparing for the next stage in your career. Stay tuned and follow the links for upcoming events. GO BEAVS!

 

Current OPA Board Members

(2024-2025)

 

President

Léo Mahieu, Ph. D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

Léo is working at Buck Lab on metal speciation in the ocean, aiming to understand the processes linking the chemical, physical, and biological processes driving metal distribution in contemporary waters. He received his Ph. D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Liverpool (UK) in 2023, and his Masters in Chemistry of the Marine Environment form the Université de Bretagne Occidentale (France) in 2018. Contrasting with his professional focus on ocean, Léo's hobbies are playing music, travelling, hiking and camping.

 

 


Vice-president

Ing. Milica Raco, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Agriculture (LeBoldus & Chang Labs)       

Milica is a virologist and a molecular plant pathologist primarily focusing on plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in natural and forest ecosystems. She received her bachelor’s, and master’s degree in Plant Protection from Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic, and her Ph.D. (2023) in Forest Pathology and Mycology from the same University. At OSU, her research focuses on characterization and  epidemiology of high impact pathogens using molecular and computational tools. Besides she is interested in structural virology and virus evolution, primarily of plant and fungal/oomycete viruses. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, and reading.       

 

 


Secretary

Md Abdul Wazed, Ph. D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Health 

Dr. Abdul is a postdoctoral scholar at Dallas Lab, School of Nutrition and Public Health. He is a food engineer and has expertise in food processing techniques and their impact on nutritional profile. He investigates how emerging technologies affect food proteins and bioactivity of peptides released in the gut of infants following digestion assay, proteomics and peptidomics. He is passionate about specialty dairy ingredients and New Product Development (NPD). He loves blending engineering approaches with food science.

 

 


Professional Development Coordinator 

Claudio Guevara, Ph. D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Forestry 

Claudio received his PhD and master's degree from Oregon State University and a Bachelor of Science from Pontificia Universisad Catolica de Chile. His research focused on sustainable silviculture, reforestation, ecophysiology, and plant community dynamics to help Pacific Northwest forests become more resilient to climate change. His current work focuses on the ecocultural restoration of grasslands in partnership with Indegenous peoples from north central Montana and the Bureau of Land Management, aiming to improve the relationship between nature and culture.  

 

 


Event Coordinator

Inés Mercedes Leyba, Ph. D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

Inés obtained her PhD and Licenciatura's degree from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Her research is primarily focused on analyzing air-sea interaction on various spatio-temporal scales. Inés is particularly interested in understanding the relationship between processes governing air-sea fluxes and climate. Currently, she is studying sub-mesoscale ocean dynamics and air-sea interaction processes. She is fascinated by the significant role that air-sea interactions play in regulating climate and global change.

 

 


Treasurer

Mareike Körner (Koerner), Ph. D., Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

 Mareike is a physical oceanographer who primarily works with observational data. She received her Ph.D. and Master's degrees from GEOMAR and Kiel University (Germany). Her research focuses on understanding dynamics in coastal shelf systems across various spatial and temporal scales. At OSU, she investigates submesoscale frontal processes of the Mississippi River plume in the northern Gulf of Mexico. She is interested in how physical processes shape ecosystems. When she is not working, she loves spending time outdoors, whether sailing, hiking, or biking.

 

 

Interested in joining the Board?

Please contact us @ postdoctoral.association@oregonstate.edu or you may contact any of the current Board members directly

Current open position, responsibilities, and availability:

1 Co-Chair for Professional Development Coordinator – Identify and support the organization of events (training, workshop, seminar…) for the community. With Claudio Guevara

1 Co-Chair for Event Coordinator – Support & Propose event organization for the community. With Inés Leyba

1 Co-Chair for Secretary – Meeting Minutes, Organization of Resources. With Abdul Wazed

1 Co-Chair for Treasury – Budget, event quoting, funding opportunities. With Mareike Körner

2 Chairs of Communication –Newsletter content, Web Design, Event Advertisement.

Availability Date: Now
If you do not get our emails, please email us and we will add you to our list: [email protected]

The Oregon State University Postdoctoral Association (OPA) is a postdoc organization which provides opportunities for professional development and networking for all OSU-affiliated postdocs. We also work with the Associate Dean of the Office of Postdoctoral Programs (OPP) in the Graduate School to improve the postdoctoral experience across OSU.