Postdoctoral Leadership
2025-2026 Executive Committee
Dylan Pham, Ph.D.
President Medical Physiology
Johnson O. Oladele, Ph.D.
Vice President Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology
Ray Garner, Ph.D.
Communication Officer Physics & Astronomy
Md Nafiul Islam, Ph.D.
Treasurer Soil and Crop Sciences
Sam Stroupe, Ph.D.
Recording Secretary Veterinary Pathobiology
Reham Touni Ph.D.
Event Coordinator Hospitality, Hotel Management, and Tourism
Sirapoom Peanusaha, Ph.D.
Satellite Campus Officer Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center at CanyonExecutive Committee
The Executive Committee is the main governing body of the Texas A&M PDA. The members of the Executive Committee include a President, Vice President, Communications Officer, Treasurer, Event Coordinator, Recording Secretary, Satellite Campus Officer and interim positions created according to current or anticipated needs. Officer positions are elected or appointed to one-year terms.
The Executive Committee shall meet regularly to discuss ongoing business and topics that are related to the Texas A&M PDA mission. The committee will be in charge of maintaining the relevance of the bylaws to the PDA, suggesting amendments as necessary. The Executive Committee shall provide analysis of the legality and the integration of any proposed amendment prior to a vote and shall be responsible for interpreting the bylaws when a question of interpretation arises.
Terms of office shall begin June 1, and shall be terminated May 31.
- President: The President shall preside over and set agendas for the Executive Committee meetings and the annual general assembly meetings, shall serve as the liaison to Texas A&M and other organizations, shall approve and/or initiate PDA events, and shall be responsible for the condition of the PDA and the proper discharge of the duties of the Executive Committee members. Additionally, the President will serve in official capacities representing the PDA in other campus organizations including but not limited to the University Staff Council and the Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty and Student Advisory Board.
- Vice President: The Vice President shall support all of the duties of the President and assume those duties, or those of the other officers, in their temporary absence, shall coordinate creation of an annual written report to be completed and presented at the spring general assembly meeting. This report will summarize all completed business, ongoing business, and plans for the next year by all committees.
- Communications Officer: The Communications Officer will carry out the PDA’s correspondence with the Texas A&M community. Specifically, they will communicate meeting notices, activity announcements, maintain the Executive Committee email server, respond to emails on the general PDA email account, maintain the PDA website, and distribute any news and noteworthy achievements of the PDA members. Additionally, the Communications Officer will be expected to actively maintain the social media accounts of the Texas A&M PDA.
- Treasurer: The Treasurer shall develop a budget request and present it to the office of postdoctoral affairs prior to a new fiscal year. Upon approval, the Treasurer shall keep record of spending and administer budget tracking, and provide regular reports on the organization’s finances at general assembly and Executive Committee meetings. Additionally, the Treasurer is responsible for the organization’s compliance with Texas A&M rules and regulations. They shall complete required financial training through the TrainTraq system.
- Event Coordinator: The Event Coordinator shall assume the organizational tasks of PDA events. This includes the Fall and Spring picnic, the National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) events, and other social networking events. They shall work closely with the Treasurer to organize necessary payments and with the Communications Officer to promote them. Where appropriate, they shall also coordinate with representatives of other PDA chapters at Texas A&M.
- Recording Secretary: The Recording Secretary shall take minutes at Executive Committee meetings and the General Assembly. They shall further maintain the PDA Google Drive to preserve previous work and templates, which will facilitate the work of future Executive Committees and ensure continued successful pursuit of the PDA mission.
- Satellite Campus Officer: The Satellite Campus Officer shall serve as the point of contact for postdocs from satellite campuses. They shall collect their suggestions and present them to the Executive Committee and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for discussion. They shall arrange virtual events, such as virtual write and share sessions or virtual coffee talks.
Previous Executive Committee Members
2026 – 2027
President: Dylan Pham (Medical Physiology)
Vice President: Johnson O. Oladele (Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology)
Communication Officer: Ray Garner (Physics & Astronomy)
Treasurer: Md Nafiul Islam (Soil and Crop Sciences)
Recording Secretary: Sam Stroupe (Veterinary Pathobiology)
Event Coordinator: Reham Touni (Hospitality, Hotel Management, and Tourism)
Satellite Campus Officer: Sirapoom Peanusaha (Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center at Canyon)
2025 – 2026
President, Communication Officer: Ray Garner (Physics & Astronomy)
Vice President: Sk Musfiq Us Salehin (Soil and Crop Sciences)
Treasurer: Dylan Pham (Medical Physiology)
Recording Secretary: Sam Stroupe (Veterinary Pathobiology)
Event Coordinator: Delaney Elise Clouse (Chemical Engineering)
Satellite Campus Officer: Bibek Acharya (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Vernon)
2024 – 2025
President: Sanhita Chakraborty (Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture)
Vice President: Sk Musfiq Us Salehin (Soil and Crop Sciences)
Communications Officer: Ray Garner, PhD (Physics & Astronomy)
Treasurer: Javier Ruiz-Perez (Ecology and Conservation Biology)
Recording Secretary: Dylan Pham (Medical Physiology)
Event Coordinator: Joana Rocha (Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology); (from February 2025) Delaney Elise Clouse (Chemical Engineering)
Satellite Campus Officer: Sayantan Samanta (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Vernon); (from February 2025) Bibek Acharya (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Vernon)
2023 – 2024
President: Alexandra Howard, PhD (Ecology and Conservation Biology)
Vice President: Deon Brown, PhD (Psychological & Brain Sciences)
Communications Officer: (June 2023 – October 2024) Shannon Schmidt-Combest (Food Science and Technology); (from November 2023) – Ray Garner, PhD (Physics & Astronomy)
Treasurer: Javier Ruiz-Perez (Ecology and Conservation Biology)
Recording Secretary: Lauren O’Neil (Geology and Geophysics)
Event Coordinator: Joana Rocha (Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology)
Satellite Campus Officer: Sayantan Samanta (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Vernon)
2022 – 2023
President: Alice Brandao (Animal Science); (from August 2022) – Anton Classen (Soil and Crop Sciences)
Vice President: (until September 2023) – Isaac Khan (Texas A&M Health)
Communications Officer: Shannon Schmidt-Combest (Department of Food Science and Technology)
Treasurer: Javier Ruiz-Perez (Ecology and Conservation Biology)
Recording Secretary: Lauren O’Neil (Geology and Geophysics)
Event Coordinator: Joana Rocha (Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology)
Website Officer/Interim Position: Isaac Khan (Texas A&M Health)
Satellite Campus Officer: Bhupinder Singh (Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center – Vernon)
2021 – 2022
President/Treasurer: Tyler Raszick (Entomology)
Vice President/Communication officer: Josefina Kjollerstrom (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
Communications Officer: Alexa Wood (Geography)
2020 – 2021
President/Treasurer: Tyler Raszick (Entomology)
Vice President/Communication Officer: Josefina Kjollerstrom (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
Communications: Adam Salazar (Biochemistry and Biophysics)
Treasurer: Loren Rivera Vega (Entomology)
2019 – 2020
President: Patricia Ishii (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
Vice President: Rachel Pilla (Gastrointestinal Laboratory)
Treasurer: Tyler Raszick (Entomology)
Recording Secretary: John Boswell (Soil and Crop Sciences)
Corresponding Secretary: Josefina Kjollerstrom (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
2018 – 2019
President: Amanda Adams (Biology)
Vice-President: Vinicius Venancio (Nutrition and Food Science)
Treasurer: Heather Allaway (Health and Kinesiology)
Corresponding Secretary: Shuya Ota (Cyclotron Institute)
Recording Secretary: Rachel Pilla (Gastrointestinal Laboratory)
2017 – 2018
President: Amanda Adams (Biology)
Vice President: Rachel Scudder (Oceanography)
Corresponding Secretary: Matthew Kesterke (Biomedical Sciences)
Recording Secretary: Heather Allaway (Health and Kinesiology)
Treasurer: Samantha Bell (Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology)
2016 – 2017
President: Amanda Adams (Biology)
Vice President: Rachel Scudder (Oceanography)
Correspondence Secretary: Jone Stanley Arulrajadurai (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
Recording Secretary: Xi Li (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences)
Treasurer: Samantha Bell (Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology)
Testimonials
My employer was looking for someone with strong administrative and reporting skills. I was able to clearly demonstrate my ability to plan, execute and oversee complex projects thanks to my role as an officer of the Texas A&M PDA. Without this experience, my CV would have been heavily research focused.
Serving on the Executive Committee gave me the opportunity to develop strong strategic thinking, communication and collaboration skills that directly contributed to my professional success. Leading postdoctoral teams taught me how to balance different perspectives, set clear goals and drive initiatives from concept to execution, all of which are essential in my current role leading the market segment at a prominent bio-pharma company.
Being part of the PDA Executive Committee was such a rewarding experience. It helped me connect with colleagues across campus and learn how to collaborate with people from different disciplines. Those experiences strengthened my communication and leadership skills, which I now use every day as an Instructional Assistant Professor.