Conference Summary
Experimental Biology 2008
April 5-9, 2008, San Diego, California

Jennifer Fang
PhD Candidate
Physiological Sciences GIDP

“This conference is primarily about networking,” said Dr. David Kurjiaka, a research associate professor at The University of Arizona as he guided me through the labyrinth of posters and exhibitor booths at the San Diego Convention Centre on my first morning at Experimental Biology 2008. Experimental Biology is a large conference attended by a wide-range of researchers and clinicians in the life sciences, and represents one of the most varied opportunities for physiologists, anatomists, nutritionists, and pharmacologists to convene and present their latest findings. Asked recently by the Herbert E. Carter Travel Award to recount the benefits of attending my first scientific conference, I realized that Dr. Kurjiaka’s truism best summarizes my experiences: the most valuable benefits of attending Experimental Biology 2008 derived from interactions with new and familiar colleagues and peers.

Many students return from conferences citing the benefits of presenting their work to an audience of professional peers. I am no exception: at Experimental Biology 2008, I presented a poster suggesting a novel role for gap junction proteins (connexins) in regulating vascular remodeling (“Connexin37 Regulation of Vascular Remodeling Following Ischemic Injury”) and thus introduced myself and my dissertation work to the scientific community. Visitors to my poster consisted of well-known researchers in both the gap junction and the microcirculatory fields, and all offered invaluable advice on future directions for this project that will undoubtedly shape my dissertation proposal. One investigator suggested that I might visit their lab to learn techniques for visualizing collateralization following ischemic injury, which might prove to be a critical component of my eventual dissertation.

Experimental Biology 2008 also offered a unique opportunity to place my research question into a broader context. Several posters presented conclusions that seemed to support my hypothesis regarding gap junction function in vascular remodeling, and having the opportunity to discuss this novel idea with established scientists helped me appreciate the collaborative nature of research and scientific understanding. One investigator presented a poster showing changes in connexin expression immediately following ischemia, and we were able to discuss in detail how her findings might relate to mine. I was also exposed to several cutting-edge theories and techniques that have pushed the limits of our understanding of the vasculature. These presentations helped me to consider my research question from exciting and new perspectives.

Perhaps the most unexpected benefit of Experimental Biology, however, was the opportunity to spend nearly a week with my mentors, removed from the day-to-day duties of the lab. My mentors guided me through the process of attending a scientific conference, noting that maximizing the conference’s benefits and minimizing mental and physical exhaustion was a learned skill. They also encouraged me to attend several symposia outside of my research focus, some of which featured Nobel prize-winning scientists. At the meeting, my mentors also trained me in basic networking skills, and taught me how to greet professional peers and engage them in a discussion of my research interests. Outside of the San Diego Convention Centre, I had the unique opportunity to ask my mentors for advice regarding science as a career and my progress as a student – conversations I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to initiate. Thus, this conference provided the valuable opportunity to further improve my relationship with my advisors and mentors.

Thanks to the Herbert E. Carter Travel Award, I was able to attend my first scientific conference and obtain valuable life experiences that furthered my professional goals. Experimental Biology 2008 was a whirlwind experience out of which I emerged better focused and more motivated to pursue my dissertation research. I was impressed by the magnitude of diverse science being carried out across the country and around the world, and was delighted to interact with renowned scientists both within and outside my fields of research. A large conference like Experimental Biology provides a unique opportunity to receive knowledge, guidance and mentorship from peers and colleagues, and gave me a greater appreciation of science not merely as a dry, academic pursuit, but as a thriving, vivacious profession powered by awe-inspiring minds and charming personalities working together to improve our society’s understanding of ourselves and the world. I am eternally grateful to the Herbert E. Carter Travel Award for granting me this opportunity.