The Society for Neuroscience meeting, 2006, was an extremely productive one for me and I am very grateful for the GIDP Herbert E. Carter Fellowship for helping me access those resources.

At the meeting, I had the opportunity to present my research in a poster format, providing me with valuable experience in presenting and discussing my work as well as gaining feedback from experts in the field. While numerous scientists at the University of Arizona are excellent mentors, the field of estrogen effects on thermoregulation is extremely small and interdisciplinary. The Society for Neuroscience meeting is large enough to attract experts in both thermoregulation and endocrinology, providing an excellent opportunity to discuss research and receive feedback from experts in both fields

In addition to receiving feedback regarding my own research, I received insights from diverse presentations. These insights will help aid the planning of my own thesis and my interpretation of experimental results. Specific examples of relevant research to my thesis included thermoregulation posters with lesion studies on areas of the brain that I research and endocrinology posters on the effects of estrogen on specific cell types. Additionally, presentations directly in my field of research clarified the current status of knowledge on theories still being worked out

Several opportunities for collaboration presented itself during the conference that may expand the range of possible experiments for use in my thesis. For example, a lab in Wyoming has performed in vivo RNA interference to temporarily knockdown the expression of the neurokinin 3 receptor in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus to study osmoregulation. We discussed the potential of a collaboration in which they would provide the siRNA and we would examine the effects of selective knockdown of the receptor on estrogen effects on hypothalamic control of thermoregulation and gonadotropin releasing hormone secretion. This experiment would be an excellent addition to my thesis. Lastly, the meeting provided the opportunity for networking and exploring future job options. I had the opportunity to introduce myself and discuss research with neuroendocrinology experts from around the world.

Lastly, I attended several symposiums on fascinating fields of research that I might enter for my postdoctoral work, including sex differences in pain and analgesia and the importance of macrophagocytosis and autophagocytosis as related to age-related neurodegenerative disorders.

In summary, by helping me attend the 2006 Society for Neuroscience meeting, the GIDP HEC Fellowship helped me gain experience in presenting research to scientific audiences, important knowledge for planning my thesis, and potential future jobs through networking and exploring other fields of neuroscience.