January 2024: Call for New Leadership

We are immensely proud of our work building the qtPhDs community during the last two years. The time has come for us to step aside and allow a new generation of postdocs to lead the qtPhDs community with a fresh perspective. 

Leading qtPhDs entails organizing monthly social events, and also provides opportunities to interface with the administration and other groups on campus. In our time as co-leads, we have been invited to meet with the president of MIT and the head of the ICEO; to participate in hiring committees and working groups; and organized lots of events together with the Postdoc Association, the Rainbow Lounge, QStaff, LGBTQ Grad, and more!

We are now welcoming interested members of our community to nominate themselves for leadership of this wonderful group by e-mailing us at qtphds-owner [at] mit [dot] edu. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or to hear more details! We will keep the community informed during this process.

About qtPhDs

We are passionate postdocs looking for enrichment in the LGBTQIA+ MIT community. Here’s our mission and vision:

qtPhDs @ MIT seeks to support LGBTQIA+ members of the MIT postdoctoral community during their time at MIT and as they go on to work in sectors such as academia, education, research, and industry. qtPhDs @ MIT provides resources that specifically address LGBTQIA+ issues in postdoctoral professional development and encourages successful career transitions for our members. While maintaining professional excellence, qtPhDs @ MIT also encourages personal growth, reflection, and community building. We are committed to serving the inclusive interests of the greater LGBTQIA+ community here at MIT and on a global scale.

We work together with the MIT Postdoctoral Association as well as LBGTQ @ MIT, including the LGBTQ Employee Resource Group. These organizations are fairly large, and actively advocate on behalf of their members for a more inclusive environment on campus. Meanwhile, qtPhDs @ MIT is a smaller group that is targeted to the specific needs and opportunities of this unique intersection of the MIT community.

About the co-leads

Rachel Gregor (She/Her/Hers) 

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Prof. Otto X. Cordero, in the Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, working on chemical interactions in marine microbial communities. During my undergrad and PhD, I was involved in LGBTQIA+ activism and educational outreach, but never in an academic context. When I started at MIT in May 2020, I was excited to join qtPhDs and bring those two parts of my life together. I see qtPhDs as a place for LGBTQIA+ postdocs to find community, support, and new friends, as well as a group that can interface with other advocacy and equity efforts taking place on campus.

Senén D. Mendoza (They/Them/Theirs)

I am a postdoctoral associate in Dr. Michael Laub’s lab in the Department of Biology. At the bench, I work hard to understand the interactions between bacteria and the viruses that infect them (phages). Outside of the lab, I enjoy video games, fermenting foods and beverages, and fostering dogs and cats. I am passionate about racial justice, queer liberation, and gender equity and am excited to help make qtPhDs a vibrant community where LGBTQIA+ postdocs at MIT can find support, solidarity, and friends. 

A disclaimer on nomenclature

The phrase “qtPhDs” is meant to be compact and clear. Some of our members may not identify with the umbrella terms “queer” or “trans”. Some postdocs may hold a doctorate degree that is not called a “PhD”. To be clear, we welcome all MIT postdocs including all sexualities and gender identities. The name of our group is not meant to narrow this range.