About Us

Who is the UPDA?

The UPDA is you and for you. As a Post-Doc at the University of Utah you are automatically a member of the UPDA and you can be as involved as you want within the organization. The UPDA focus is to serve and promote the social network and career development of Post-Docs at the University of Utah. The UPDA is a free, volunteer-run organization established on August 19, 2010.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the UPDA is to be a sustainable organization that represents, supports, and enhances the postdoc community at the University of Utah. Our mission is to promote the social network and career development of postdocs at the University of Utah.

To do this the UPDA has six main goals:

• Help incoming postdocs acclimatize to Utah.
• Foster social interactions and communication between postdocs.
• Assist in driving career advancement.
• Be highly responsive to our members’ needs and issues of concern.
• Provide a forum for interaction between departmental faculty and postdocs.
• Represent postdocs to Utah Administration and on the National level.

Current Initiatives

The UPDA was established on August 19, 2010 in order to strengthen University of Utah’s postdoctoral community by organizing social and professional development events. Currently, we host several large events each year, including Postdoc Appreciation Week occurring annually in September. Events provide an open forum for postdocs to meet colleagues from across campus.

To see our calendar of events, visit the upcoming events page.

Get Involved! Join the UPDA Board

Interested in becoming more involved? We are looking for new board members! Our monthly meet-up is the first Monday of every month from 4:00 – 5:00 pm through ZOOM. We also hold hybrid meetings on occasion. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to attend a monthly meet-up.