11th Annual Research Conference
Sunday, March 29 – Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Chaminade Resort & Spa
One Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95065
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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
