11th Annual Research Conference
Sunday, March 29 – Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Chaminade Resort & Spa
One Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95065
Program Preliminary Schedule
All information below is preliminary and subject to change.
Hotel rooms available after 4 PM
| Day 1 | Sunday, March 29 |
|---|---|
| 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Free time |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Arrival, refreshments, conference check-in |
| Hotel rooms available after 4:00 pm | |
| 1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcoming remarks (Dr. Joseph Vu and Dr. Congyu Liao) |
| 1:10 – 1:20 pm | Department overview |
| 1:20 – 1:35 pm | Icebreaker |
| 1:35 – 1:55 pm | New faculty presentation |
| 1:55 – 2:25 pm | Senior faculty presentation |
| 2:30 – 2:50 pm | Free time and refreshments (PM break) |
| 2:50 – 5:00 pm | Activities / free time |
| 5:00 – 6:00 pm | Check-in / free time |
| 5:15 – 6:15 pm | VA Faculty Meeting |
| 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Dinner |
| 7:30 – 8:30 pm | Team building activity (indoor) |
| 8:30 – 10:00 pm | Bonfire, s’mores, drinks, snacks (outdoor) |
| 10:00 pm – Late | Free time |
| Day 2 | Monday, March 30 |
|---|---|
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Trail hike |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 9:45 am | Free time |
| 8:45 – 9:45 am | Faculty meeting |
| 9:45 – 10:30 am | Catch & Share |
| 10:30 – 11:10 am | Keynote speaker |
| 11:10 – 11:20 am | Refreshments (AM break) |
| 11:20 am – 12:30 pm | RIG / SRG I talks |
| 12:30 – 1:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 – 2:40 pm | Power pitches |
| 2:40 – 3:00 pm | Announcements & group photo |
| 3:00 – 6:00 pm | Activities / free time |
| 6:00 – 7:00 pm | Dinner |
| 6:30 – 7:00 pm | Poster session prep |
| 7:00 – 8:00 pm | Poster session |
| 8:00 – 8:30 pm | Talent show prep |
| 8:30 – 10:00 pm | Talent show & jam session |
| 10:00 pm – 12:00 am | Free time, hangout, indoor games |
| Day 3 | Tuesday, March 31 |
|---|---|
| Check out by 11:00 am | Hotel room checkout |
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Trail hike |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Breakfast & turn in raffle tickets |
| 9:00 – 9:20 am | Raffle prizes |
| 9:20 – 10:20 am | Breakout sessions 1 & 2 |
| 10:20 – 10:40 am | Refreshments (AM break, drop off key for checkout) |
| 10:40 – 11:40 am | Breakout sessions 3 & 4 |
| 11:40 – 12:00 pm | Closing remarks and pack up |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Lunch |
Conference Chairs
Chairs
- An Vu, PhD, Chair
- Congyu Liao, PhD, Vice Chair
- Jeremy Gordon, PhD, Past Chair & Consultant
Volunteers
- Stacy Andosca, CPhT
- Emma Bahroos, MS
- Georgios Batsios, PhD
- Anil Parsram Bidkar, PhD
- Biswajit Das, PhD
- Robin Cumming, PhD
- Aditya Jhajharia, PhD
- Tracy Luks, PhD
- Eugene Ozhinsky, PhD
- Pooja Prabhu, PhD
- Isabelle Remick, BA
- Sam Torrisi, PhD
- Tamara Vasilkovska, MD, PhD
- April Xing, BS
Administrative Support
- Anne Bartoletti
- Annie Liu
- Steaven Campbell
Past Research Conferences
Day 1 (Sunday June 8th)
Hotel Rooms available after 4 PM
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Arrival, Refreshments, Conference Check-in |
| 1:00 – 1:10 pm | Welcoming Remarks (Dr. Jeremy Gordon and Dr. Joseph Vu) |
| 1:10 –1:20 pm | Welcoming Remarks (Dr. Christopher Hess) |
| 1:20 – 1:35 pm | Icebreaker |
| 1:35 – 1:55 pm | New Faculty Presentation (Dr. Alex Gersing) |
| 1:55 – 2:25 pm | Senior Faculty Presentation (Dr. Henry VanBrocklin) |
| 2:25 – 2:45 pm | Refreshments (PM Break) |
| 2:45 – 3:45 pm | Department Resources |
| 3:45 – 5:00 pm | Power Pitches |
| 5:00 – 6:00 pm | Check-in / Free Time |
| 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Dinner |
| 7:30 – 8:30 pm | Team Building Activity (Indoor) |
| 8:30 – 10:00 pm | Bonfire, Smores, Drinks, Snacks (Outdoor) |
| 10:00 pm – Late | Free Time |
Day 2 (Monday June 9th)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Trail Hiking |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 9:45 am | Free Time |
| (8:45 – 9:45 am) | (Faculty Meeting) |
| 9:45 – 10:30am | Catch & Share |
| 10:30 – 11:30 am | Keynote Speaker (Dr. Roland Henry) |
| 11:30 – 11:40 am | Refreshments (AM Break) |
| 11:40 am – 12:25 pm |
RIG / SRG I Talks:
|
| 12:25 – 1:25 pm | Lunch |
| 1:25 – 2:40 pm |
RIG / SRG II Talks:
|
| 2:40 – 3:00 pm | Announcements & Group Photo |
| 3:00 – 6:00 pm | Activities / Free Time |
| 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Dinner |
| (7:00 – 7:30pm) | (Poster Session Prep) |
| 7:30 – 8:30 pm | Poster Session |
| 8:30 – 10 pm | Talent Show & Jam Session |
| 9:30 pm – Late | Free Time, Hangout, Indoor Games |
Day 3 (Tuesday June 10th)
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Trail Hiking |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 10:20 am |
Breakout Session 1
|
| 10:20 – 10:40 am | Refreshments (AM Break, Check out) |
| 10:40 – 11:40 am |
Breakout Session 2
|
| 11:40 – 11:50 am | Closing Remarks |
| 11:50 am – 12:00 pm | Pack-up |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Lunch |
Day 1 - Saturday April 20th
| Time | Activity and Presenter(s) |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Arrival, Refreshments, Conference Check-in |
| 1:00 – 1:10 pm |
Welcoming Remarks Melanie Morrison, PhD and Jeremy Gordon, PhD Conference Chair & Co-Chair |
| 1:10 – 1:20 pm |
Welcoming Remarks Christopher Hess, MD, PhD Department Chair |
| 1:20 – 1:40 pm | Icebreaker |
| 1:40 – 2:00 pm |
New Faculty Presentation Daehyun Yoon, PhD Imaging of Pain: Questions that led me to UCSF |
| 2:00 – 2:20 pm |
Senior Faculty Presentation William Dillon, MD, PhD A UCSF career: roads taken & things I’ve learned over 40 years as an |
| 2:20 – 2:45 pm | Refreshments (PM break) |
| 2:45 – 4:00 pm | Power Pitches |
| 4:00 – 6:00 pm | Mingle, Room Check-in, Relax |
| 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Dinner with Topic Tables |
| 7:30 – 9:45 pm | Team Building Activity at Firepits with S’mores & Refreshments |
| 9:45 pm | Chaminade Bar & Common Areas |
Day 2 - Sunday April 21st
| Time | Activity and Presenter(s |
| 7:00 – 8:00 am | Early Morning Trail Hike |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Breakfast (Sunset Restaurant) |
|
9:00 – 10:30 am (9:45 – 10:30 am) |
Free time (Faculty Meeting) |
| 10:30 – 11:20 am |
Keynote Address: Doris Wang, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery Advances in Surgery for Movement Disorders: Ablative |
| 11:20 – 11:40 am | Refreshments (AM Break) |
| 11:40 am – 12:20 pm |
RG/SRG Talks Christopher Hess, MD, PhD Department Chair Overview of Department Research |
|
Vascular & Cardiac Imaging Yoo Jin Lee, MD Multimodality imaging of cardiac fibrosis; FAP-2286 Cardiac PET/CT and Cardiac MRI |
|
|
Body Imaging Wen Li, PhD & Lisa Wilmes, PhD Diffusion-weighted MRI for improving individualized breast cancer treatment |
|
| 12:20 – 1:30 pm | Lunch (Sunset Restaurant) |
| 1:30 – 2:30 pm |
RG and SRG Talks II Neuroimaging Justin Torok Cellular underpinnings of the selective vulnerability to tauopathic insults in Alzheimer’s disease |
|
Chemistry, Probes & Molecular Therapy (CPMT) Ziad Kedkad Locoregional T-cell Therapy For The Treatment of Locally Invasive, Unresectable Tumors |
|
|
Intelligent Imaging (ci2) Rupsa Bhattacharjee, PhD Emerging Role of AI in Low-field MSK MR |
|
|
Advanced Imaging Technologies (AIT) Jeremy Gordon, PhD Dynamic T2* Relaxometry of Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI in the Human Brain and Kidneys |
|
| 2:30 – 3:00 pm | Group Photos |
| 3:00 – 6:00 pm | Outdoor and Indoor Activities |
| 6:00 – 7:00 pm | Dinner with Topic Tables |
| 7:00 – 7:30 pm | Mingle & Set up Posters |
| 7:30 – 8:30 pm | Poster Session & Refreshments |
| 8:30 – 9:15 pm | Talent Show, Jam Session, Refreshments |
| 9:15 pm | Bonfire, Chaminade Bar, Common Areas |
Day 3 - Monday April 22nd
| Time | Activity and Presenter(s) |
| 7:00 – 7:40 am | Early Morning Trail Hike |
| 7:40 – 8:40 am | Breakfast & Room Check out (Sunset Restaurant) |
| 8:40 – 10:10 am |
Public Speaking Workshop Franklin Dlott, Toastmasters Santa Cruz Public Speaking Workshop |
| 10:10 – 10:20 am | Refreshments (AM Break) & Room Check out |
| 10:20 – 11:50 am |
Mindful Priorities Management Workshop Pierre Khawand, People-OnTheGo Mindful Priorities Management: Transforming Chaos into Calm |
| 11:50 – 12:00 pm |
Closing Remarks Melanie Morrison, PhD & Jeremy Gordon, PhD Conference Chair & Co-Chair |
| 12:00 – 1:00 pm | Lunch (Sunset Restaurant) |
Contact us
Anne Bartoletti
Research Administrative Officer
[email protected]
Steaven Campbell
Mission Bay Manager
[email protected]
Annie Liu
Research Admin Officer
[email protected]