April 2026 ULPA Executive Nomination/Election Results

Please congratulate and welcome your new ULPA Executive Team! During the nomination period there was a single nominee for each position, so all positions were awarded by acclamation (no campaign/election).

  • President: Dr. Paula Olivares Guzman (she/her)
  • Vice President Operations: Dr. Esmaeel Ghasemi Gojani (he/him)
  • Vice President Communications: Dr. Shaylyn Kress (she/her)
  • Vice President Internal: Dr. Amirhossein Moshrefi (he/him)

Thank you Dr. Kartik Iyer, for managing the elections this year!

Upcoming Event: Campus Workers United Group Information Session

The Campus Workers United Group at the University of Lethbridge is a group working to show cross-campus solidarity with union affairs across campus. They are hosting an information session, please see below and the poster image for details.

CAMPUS WORKERS UNITED INFORMATION PICKET
Two unions on campus are currently in bargaining with the employer. This info picket is designed to provide information to union members and the university community. We want to highlight to our employer that we care about and are invested in the bargaining process.
This picket is hosted by Campus Workers United, showing solidarity for all four unions on campus (ULFA, AUPE, ULGSA, ULPA). Join us to support or learn more about cross-campus solidarity, the four unions on campus, and the Campus Workers United initiative.

Where: Uhall Atrium
When: March 24th 12:00 – 1:00

Program:
Speeches
- Campus Workers United
- ULFA
– AUPE
- ULGSA
- ULPA
People’s Chorus

Farewell Dr. Melissa Chelak

Dr. Chelak is wearing a warm orange jacket and glasses. She is holding a bird up to the camera.

The ULPA executive team would like to announce that Dr. Melissa Chelak, current ULPA president, will be stepping down as she is leaving ULeth. Dr. Chelak, thank you for taking on the role of president and keeping the ULPA going! We appreciate your hard work and will miss you.

Postdoctoral Writing Groups Winter 2026

The ULPA once again is hosting postdoctoral writing groups for the term. This time around, you can find us in the ULPA Office from 9:30 until noon on Thursdays. Happy Writing!

Shaylyn, Interim VP Comms, on behalf of the ULPA

Welcome Dr. Haben Gabir to the ULPA team!

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Haben Gabir to the ULPA executive team as our interim Vice-President of Internal Affairs. She has kindly offered to fill this role until our formal elections sometime in 2026.

About Dr. Gabir: Dr. Haben Gabir is an Alberta Innovates funded Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Borries Demeler. Dr. Gabir is a biophysicist and structural biologist with a specialization in protein interactions. Her current postdoctoral research focuses on the development and validation of Analytical ultracentrifugation based methods for the study of emerging biologic; Adeno-associated vectors, Lipid Nanoparticles, monoclonal antibodies and extracellular vesicles. Dr. Gabir also volunteers with U.Lethbridge Post-doctoral Association to promote science communications and combat disinformation.