The NPA Annual Conference is the largest national conference and networking event dedicated to the postdoctoral community. Conference attendees - postdoctoral scholars, administrators, faculty, and representatives from disciplinary societies, industry, and corporations - are provided with the opportunity to gather and enhance their professional development and leadership skills.

Registration | Speakers | Agenda | Sponsorship Information | Career Connections

Lodging | Cleveland info & logistics | Refund Policy | Event App

Keynote Speaker

Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D.

Consultant, speaker, and founder of Intersections

Villa-Komaroff, a molecular biologist, executive, and diversity advocate, is a consultant and speaker, and founder of Intersections, SBD. Previously serving as CEO and CSO of Cytonome/ST, LLC, she now sits on its board, along with the boards of ATCC, the Keck Graduate Institute, and the Boston-based Biomedical Careers Program. Villa-Komaroff is a member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering, and the Advisory Council of the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences. She is a founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), having served as a board member and vice president in the past, and currently serving as a member of the Committee of Senior Advisors.

Villa-Komaroff received her Bachelor of Arts from Goucher College and her doctorate in cell biology from MIT. She held faculty positions at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School. She served as vice president for research at Northwestern University in Illinois and vice president for research and chief operating officer of the Whitehead Institute. In the past, she has served on the boards of the Massachusetts Life Science Center (Gubernatorial appointment), Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc., the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and on the advisory councils for the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, the Biology Directorate of the NSF, and the National Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Villa-Komaroff has been recognized with numerous honors including election to the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Hall of Fame, receipt of a Lifetime Achievement Award by Hispanic Business Magazine, selection as the 2008 Hispanic Scientist of the Year by the Museum of Science and Industry, 2013 Woman of Distinction by the American Association of University Women, and receipt of the 2016 Elking Morison prize from the MIT Program in Science and Technology.

Lodging

Lodging for the conference will be at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, Tower City Center, 24 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44113. A special rate of $139 per night (plus tax) has been negotiated for NPA conference attendees.

As stated by the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, "A city landmark, the iconic Renaissance Cleveland Hotel was built in 1918 and its architecture reflects Cleveland's unique style and rich history. Plush, spacious, newly renovated rooms with well-appointed and upscale amenities await guests at this luxury Cleveland, OH hotel."