Postdoc Society

POSTDOC SOCIETY AT QUEEN'S

The Postdoc Society is led by and made up of Postdoctoral Researchers from across Queen's University Belfast. It was established in October 2022 to support Postdocs and Research Staff during their time at Queen's.

The society plays a crucial role in organising events and initiatives that promote networking between researchers across the institution and within their own faculties, including social events, research-related events (seminars and symposia), and specific interest groups. The society also advocates for postdocs through their links with the PDC and other committees.

Events and initiatives organised by the society are open to all research staff university-wide (Postdocs, fellows, research assistants, KTP etc.).

If you have any ideas or queries for the Postdoc Society, please feel free to contact us via email at PostdocSociety@qub.ac.uk .

Want to get involved or find out more?

Complete our short Expression of Interest Form, and a member of the team will be in touch with you shortly.

We are particularly keen to welcome new members from the AHSS and EPS faculties at this time.

• Aims
• Contact us
• Events and Initiatives
• Meet the Society - Who are we?
• Facilitate networking between Postdocs and Research Staff across the University
• Organise events to help promote wellbeing and researcher skills (e.g. Postdoc Showcase, writing retreats and wellbeing events)
• Engage in outreach activities involving students at Queen's
• Promote and celebrate the importance of Postdocs and Research Staff in the University and to the public
• Date: 18/10/2026
• Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
• Location: Studio 1, Queen's Physical Education Centre (PEC), located at Botanic Park, Stranmillis Embankment, BT9 5EX.
• Category: Social
• Date: 25/09/2026
• Time: 9:30am - 5:00pm
• Location: The Great Hall & Canada Room/Council Chamber
• Category: Conference / Symposium
• Date: 1/08/2026
• Time: 9:45am - 2:00pm
• Location: Meeting point: Participants should meet outside the front entrance of Queen's Lanyon Building at 09:45 for departure by hired Coach at 10:00.
• Category: Social
• Date: 24/02/2026
• Time: 10:30am - 1:30pm
• Location: Canada Room/Council Chamber, First Floor, Lanyon Building
• Category: Social
• Date: 18/02/2026
• Time: 12:15pm - 1:30pm
• Location: Seminar Room, First Floor, 63 University Road
• Category: Social
• Date: 27/11/2025
• Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm
• Location: Seminar Room, First Floor, 63 University Road
• Category: Training / Learning & Development, Workshop / Seminar / Course
• Date: 19/11/2025
• Time: 10:00am - 11:00am
• Location: The Senate Room, Lanyon Building
• Category: Information Event
• Date: 26/09/2025
• Time: 9:30am - 6:00pm
• Location: The Canada Room/Council Chamber and The Great Hall
• Category: Conference / Symposium

MEET THE SOCIETY

The Postdoc Society is led by and made up of Postdocs and Research Staff with representation from various schools across Queen's University Belfast.

View our profiles below to find out more about us.

Interested in joining the Postdoc Society? Complete our short Expression of Interest Form, and a member of the team will be in touch with you shortly. We are particularly keen to welcome new members from the AHSS and EPS faculties at this time.

School of Pharmacy

Abraham is a Research Fellow in the Donnelly lab within the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast (QUB). Before joining QUB, Abraham worked in various research groups in different countries (e.g. Germany, Italy, Colombia and UK). He is currently working on bioinspired smart transdermal nano-therapeutics and microneedles. He also focuses on advanced therapies and sustainable green smart technologies in transdermal drug delivery and cosmetics as well as targeting the skin microbiome.

Abraham joined the Postdoc Society as an exceptional platform to expand his network within a diverse, young, and motivated team of outstanding scientists at QUB. He would also like to contribute to the Postdoc Society by encouraging discourse and engagement of postdocs from different schools, bringing new perspectives and ideas while learning from a diverse group of talented peers. Abraham believes that empowering young postdoctoral scientists through the Postdoc Society as ‘’Future Leaders’’ will increase QUB impact and ensure QUB continues to foster an inclusive world/environment where everyone feels supported and valued.

Abraham is delighted to take up the position of Chair of the Postdoc Society.

Centre for Wireless Innovation | School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Soumyadeep is working as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Wireless Innovation under the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is currently working in a US-Ireland tripartite project on Magnetoelectric Antennas. He is working closely with his collaborators from the University of Utah, USA and Tyndall National Institute, Republic of Ireland. His research interests lie in implantable/wearable antennas and sensors for biomedical applications. Soumyadeep obtained his doctoral degree from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, India and worked as an assistant professor for a couple of years. He is also a member of IEEE Antenna and Propagation Society.

Beyond academia, Soumyadeep nurtures interest in dramatics and participated in theatre productions in India for over a decade. He also enjoys organising various events and working in a team.

Soumyadeep joined the Postdoc Society to network with other postdoc researchers across QUB. He is looking forward to exploring inter-disciplinary collaborations and other opportunities to organise various types of events through this society.

School of Law

Maryanne is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, working on the interdisciplinary Trust in User Generated Evidence (TRUE) project led by Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees. She leads the psychology work package on the project. Her research focuses on how laypeople and legal professionals evaluate user-generated digital evidence, using mock-jury methodologies and online experiments. Before joining QUB, Maryanne was a postdoctoral researcher on the same project at Swansea University.

Maryanne completed her PhD at the Attention and Memory Lab at University College Dublin. Her doctoral research, funded by Research Ireland, examined the cognitive mechanisms underlying susceptibility to misinformation in eyewitness testimony contexts.

Maryanne joined the Postdoc Society to connect with other postdoctoral researchers across the university, with the aim of contributing to an inclusive and supportive research environment and is looking forward to bringing a social sciences perspective to the society.

School of Mathematics and Physics

Pooja is a Research Fellow in the Smart Nano NI group in the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast.

Pooja completed her PhD at Chonnam National University, South Korea, in the development of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) cantilever-based biosensors for cardiotoxicity screening. Her area of expertise is biosensors, MEMS, additive manufacturing, and heterogeneous integration, and she has insight into miniaturized engineering in the context of bio-analyses. She has published extensively in a wide range of areas incorporating microengineering, plasmonics, and bio-applications, and is currently working on the development of MEMS-based sensors and additive manufacturing at the micron scale.

Pooja joined the Postdoc Society to help build a vibrant community where postdocs can collaborate, connect, and share knowledge.

Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine | School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Shannon is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine. During her PhD, she focused on characterising an experimental model of malaria retinopathy, working to better understand how infection drives vascular dysfunction and tissue damage. This work aimed to uncover mechanisms contributing to severe disease and identify pathways that may be targeted to reduce complications associated with malaria.

In her current postdoctoral role, Shannon’s research has expanded into acute respiratory lung disease, an area brought into focus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work now investigates the cellular and molecular processes that underlie lung injury, with a particular interest in how inflammatory and vascular responses contribute to disease severity and recovery. By applying advanced experimental models and translational approaches, she aims to help inform strategies that improve outcomes in severe respiratory illness.

Shannon joined the Postdoc Society to build connections with researchers across Queen's University Belfast and to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. Through the Society, she hopes to contribute to a supportive research community and organise events, while also developing her professional network and collaborative opportunities.

School of Pharmacy

Natalia is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), working under the supervision of Professor Ryan Donnelly.

Before joining QUB, Natalia gained research experience in several academic groups, contributing to diverse projects and collaborative initiatives. In this regard, she has developed a strong appreciation for the important role that societies play in building social networks and helping people to settle into new environments.

School of Pharmacy

Sabrina is a Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast. She completed her undergraduate and Master's degrees, as well as part of her PhD, at Université Laval in Québec, Canada, before continuing her research career internationally.

Her research focuses on developing innovative drug delivery technologies, with a particular interest in combining nanoparticle-based formulations with advanced transdermal delivery systems, such as microneedles, to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of therapeutics. She currently leads several multidisciplinary research projects aimed at translating novel drug delivery strategies into meaningful healthcare solutions.

As a member of the Postdoc Society, Sabrina is passionate about fostering a supportive and collaborative research community, promoting opportunities for professional development, and ensuring postdoctoral researchers have a strong voice across the University. Outside of research, she trained and participated in competitive swimming in Ireland and Europe, and enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking.

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Umair is currently working as a Research Fellow at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast, where he is investigating the associations between disability and education and employment outcomes in children with cerebral palsy. He completed his PhD at Ulster University and has experience working across several international research institutions. His research interests focus on public health, disability, and the broader social determinants of health outcomes.

He has joined the Postdoc Society at Queen's to connect with fellow postdoctoral researchers, strengthen professional networks, and engage with the wider research community.

School of Pharmacy

Bunty is working as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-Postdoctoral Fellow (MSCA-PF) in the School of Pharmacy. His current research focuses on developing nanotheranostic photosensitizers and microneedle platforms for combinatorial skin cancer therapy. He obtained his Master of Science (MSc) degree from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India and Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from the Department of Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

Bunty has held prestigious positions, including a Commonwealth Split-Site Fellow at the School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, UK; a Research Specialist at Molekule Inc.; and a Research Scientist at the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF), Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

He is a member of scientific societies like the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, American Chemical Society, USA, Controlled Release Society (CRS) and an editorial board member of BMC “Biomedical Materials Science” and MPDI “Micro” journals.

Bunty joined the Postdoc Society to connect with other postdoctoral researchers from different disciplines across QUB and to contribute to the society’s events and initiatives.

Centre for Public Health | School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Nicky is a member of the Ageing and Nutrition research group, with a research focus on how dietary patterns - such as the Mediterranean diet, Eat Well Guide, and DASH diet - affect cognitive and cardiovascular ageing, physical function, and fall prevention. Her recently completed doctoral research centred on the PROMED-EX RCT, which investigated the effects of a high-protein Mediterranean diet combined with exercise on nutritional status, cognitive function, and quality of life in older adults at risk of undernutrition and cognitive decline. Currently, she is developing an algorithm to estimate dementia prevalence in Northern Ireland as part of the Harmonised Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), a substudy within the NICOLA project.

Beyond academia, Nicky has over a decade of experience in the fitness and wellness industry and is passionate about science communication. She actively engages in public outreach, media dissemination, and presentations to policymakers, working to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact.

Nicky joined the Postdoc Society as she saw it as a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow Postdocs across different faculties, fostering collaboration and professional growth. She was also keen to take part in activities beyond traditional academic duties, helping her develop as a more well-rounded researcher.

Centre for Public Health | School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

From being a student at Queen’s University from 2011 to 2020, and now a member of staff, Danielle can truly say Queen’s University is a brilliant place to be! Danielle’s research interests are health and nutrition and thus she is currently working as a Postdoc at the Centre for Public Health on various nutrition related projects.

Danielle joined the Postdoc Society when it was established in 2022 and acted as Chair until she stepped down in December 2025. Danielle, with support from members of the society and the PDC, organised three very successful Postdoc Showcases!

View Danielle's Pure Profile

Centre for Public Health | School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

Sarah completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate research degree at the School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast. Sarah’s research interests are in use and effects of medications at the population level. She is currently working within the cancer epidemiology research group in the Centre for Public Health.

Sarah joined the Postdoc Society to network with fellow researchers at Queen's and to gain insight into the broader University environment. She was delighted to act as Secretary to the group until December 2025.

View Sarah's Pure Profile

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