Postdoc PITCH Competition

Take Your Research Center Stage

Postdoctoral Scholars are invited to participate in this annual public speaking competition to showcase the potential impact of their research and win cash prizes.

Can you present your research in just 3 minutes?

Postdoc PITCH is UCSD’s annual competitive public speaking event giving Postdoctoral Scholars the chance to showcase the impact of their research. Postdocs PITCH participants have the chance to showcase how their research has the potential to change the world while competing for prizes ranging from $25 to $2,500. Your research is important, and this is your chance to tell us why. Participate in Postdoc PITCH and propel your professional communication skills to new heights!

2026 Campus Champion

Congratulations to Dr. Ido Avivi, a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Medicine, on being named our 2026 Postdoc PITCH campus champion with his research talk entitled "Uniting Two Revolutions: The Future of Heart Attack Prevention".

Watch the Talk

2026 Postdoc PITCH Finalists

Participants are listed in alphabetical order

Postdoc	Department
Jiyo Athertya	Radiology
Ido Avivi	Medicine
Virginia Cheung	Pathology
Megan Dowdle	Molecular Biology
Matthew Ellis	Medicine
Brijonnay Madrigal	Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Mansi Padave	Astronomy & Astrophysics

2026 Final Round

Watch the UC San Diego Grad SLAM and Postdoc PITCH Final Round on Thursday, April 2nd at 3 p.m. (PT) at the Qualcomm Institute to hear our finalists present their 3 minute talks!

WATCH THE 2026 FINAL ROUND

TPTC Postdoc Pitch Competition

The top two finalists from the UC San Diego Postdoc PITCH Competition will be invited to compete in the mesa-wide TPTC Postdoc Pitch Competition on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 2 p.m. (PT) at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Victor E. LaFave III Memorial Auditorium. The postdoctoral participants in this event are the finalists selected through internal competitions held at each TPTC partner institution, Salk, Sanford Burnham Prebys, Scripps Research, and UCSD.

WATCH RECORDING OF 2025 TPTC FINAL ROUND

Compete in Postdoc Pitch

Competition Dates:

Submission Deadline for Recorded Talks: Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.

Final round: Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Get more info

Participant Resources

2026 Postdoc PITCH Prizes

All Participants

Current UCSD postdoctoral scholars who submit a video of their recorded 3 minute talk that follows all guidelines by the January 6, 2026 deadline will receive a $25 Visa gift card.

Finalists

Postdoctoral Scholars selected to compete in the final round on Thursday, April 2, 2026 will be eligible for the following awards:

Participants - $250
3rd Place - $750
2nd Place - $1,500
1st Place - $2,500

Additional Resources

Scholarly and Professional Communication Resources for Postdocs
2025 Postdoc PITCH Finalist Presentations
How to Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo, Article by Guy Kawasaki
How to Give a TED-Worthy Talk by Dorie Clark, Forbes
10 Tips on How to make Slides that Communicate your Idea, by TED Staff
10 Most Common Rookie Mistakes in Public Speaking by Terry Gault, Managing Partner and Vice President of the Henderson Group
Giving an Academic Talk by Jonathan Shewchuk, Associate Professor in Computer Science, University of California at Berkeley
Giving Oral Presentations from English Communication for Scientists by Jean-luc Doumont (ed.), Nature (2010)
Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
Top Ten Tips for Writing and Delivering Very Brief Speeches by Bill Cole, Founder and CEO of William B. Cole Consultants

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