The Peet’s Coffee partnership provides travel funds that help UC Davis graduate students attend conferences and participate in professional development opportunities. 

UC Davis graduate student Erin Doherty was recently able to showcase her research at a conference for one of the world’s largest scientific societies, thanks to a Graduate Student Association (GSA) travel grant sponsored by Peet’s Coffee.  

Doherty is entering her fifth year of Ph.D. studies in the Beal Lab and is a member of the UC Davis Graduate Student Association. She learned about the travel grant sponsored by Peet’s Coffee through an advertisement posted by the association. She was interested in applying for the grant because it would allow her to share her research in RNA therapeutics while honing her science communication skills.  

With their international experience, Peet’s Coffee sees travel grants for graduate students as another useful way to give back to the campus community. 

“In addition to our work with coffee science on campus, we are excited to award graduate students travel grants to enrich their educational opportunities,” said Peet’s Coffee Senior Director of Channel Development for Food Service Mary Dusenbury. “We know from all of our work in coffee origin countries that there is no substitute to being able to collaborate and work with colleagues in person.” 

The travel award Doherty received through the Peet’s Coffee partnership did exactly that. By allowing her to register for an interdisciplinary conference hosted by American Chemical Society (ACS), Doherty had the opportunity to share her research with hundreds of fellow scientists.  

A few months prior to the ACS conference, Doherty and colleagues had completed an article discussing her research in RNA therapeutics. The publication of her article fell in perfect alignment with the conference, preparing her to discuss her research with other scientists in her field.   

“This travel grant allowed me to promote my research and recently published article with other scientists at the American Chemical Society conference. I was also able to network and listen to other scientists, helping me determine what my next steps might be after I complete my Ph.D. studies,” she said.  

The Peet’s Coffee partnership created an opportunity for Doherty to advance her career, develop her skills and continue to imagine the possibilities that lie ahead for her future research.