PDA Executive Council
While all SFU Postdoctoral Fellows are considered members of the Postdoctoral Association, some of them take a more active role within the association. They represent the interest of Postdoctoral Fellows to the SFU administration, organize activities, and support Postdoctoral Fellows in other ways. The current elected members are listed below.
2024-2025 Executive Council
PDA Executive Council Co - Presidents
Dr. Alexander Beams
Department of Mathematics
Alex is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the MAGPIE group studying mathematical models of pathogen transmission and evolution. In addition to paddling, camping, and biking, he enjoys exploring Vancouver. He looks forward to becoming even better acquainted with the postdoctoral community at SFU.
Dr. Numaira Obaid,
School of Mechatronics Engineering
Numaira is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Mechatronics Engineering (MSE). Her work examines the role of the spinal degeneration in the biomechanics of fall-related spinal cord injuries in older adults. Numaira brings her experience as executive members of the 2023-2024 PDA, hoping to better serve the postdoctoral community in her new term as the co-president of PDA this year. Numaira also represents postdoctoral fellows in the Postdoctoral Working Group led by Chair. Valorie Crooks, AVPR.
PDA Executive Council Members
Dr. Angela Silva Bessa,
Department of Archaeology
Angela is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Archaeology where she mainly explores cemetery management and Portuguese funerary practices through the curation and study of the Cœmeteria Olisipponis Memorial Collection.
Dr. Clarissa Dominici,,
Department of Archaeology
Clarissa is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Archaeology. Her research focuses on the chemical analysis of ancient residues recovered from Paleolithic artifacts to better understand their use in past hunter-gatherer societies of Mediterranean Europe. Since her arrival at SFU, she has also been working on ancient pyrothecnologies, joining Prof. Francesco Berna's project on Neanderthal fire-making skills. She enjoys drinking coffee with friends (especially PDA members!), drinking coffee on her own, and exploring new places.
Dr. Yiting Chen,
School of Mechatronics System Engineering
Yiting is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Mechatronics System Engineering. Her research focuses on Smart agriculture incorporating automation, sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI), offers a solution for global food security by optimizing sustainability in agricultural production. She hopes to engage more postdoctoral fellows in her role as an executive member of the postdoctoral association
These elected members are supported in their endeavors by a number of active members. We are always happy to welcome additional active members, so if you would like to contribute to the SFU Postdoctoral Association please be in touch with one of us or e-mail us at sfu_pda@sfu.ca.
As a Postdoctoral Fellowship can be over and done with in a relatively short time, from time to time Executive Council members move on to other challenges and places.