… on a Friday afternoon not knowing what to expect. I had presented my research at small poster sessions on campus before, but this was different. This was an international conference with some of the world’s best and brightest scientists in attendance. It was not a small event either; over fifteen thousand scientists were expected to be there. While a little intimidating at first, my experience at the 2005 Experimental Biology Conference could not have been better.

We arrived at the hotel Friday night. Tired from a long week of school and work, I went to bed early knowing that Saturday was going to be a long day. My poster had to be in the exhibition hall and hung by 7:30 am, so I was up early heading towards the San Diego Convention Center when I began to notice fellow scientists everywhere I looked. I knew then that this conference was going to be huge! After hanging my poster in the allotted space, I went back to the hotel to get ready for my presentation.

When the appropriate time came, I stood next to my poster for two and a half hours answering questions about my research. In many ways, it was similar to the UBRP poster sessions. The main difference was in the number of people knowledgeable about the intricate mechanisms of insulin resistance (the focus of my project). This served to up the ante by challenging me with tough questions concerning the design of my project as well as the results. This was a change of pace from the poster sessions I had done before where I spent most of my time explaining the research and methods to others.

I was invited to present later that day at an undergraduate poster session sponsored by the American Physiological Society. Once again, I was asked in depth questions by some of the leading researchers in the field and tried to answer them as best I could. I enjoyed this poster session more than the first because along with questions concerning my research, I was often asked about my future plans. More often than not, those asking about the future were supportive of my goals and offered advice meant to help me along the way.

I was able to attend the conference for two additional days following my presentation; both of which were interesting and informative. The lectures and seminars presented at the conference were varied and included disciplines such as pharmacology, biochemistry, and pathology. I went through the list of presentations and laid out a schedule each day. The seminars were interesting, especially the one concerning the protein I will be studying this summer in conjunction with the BRAVO! Program.

In the end, the conference was a big step in my research career. It served to build confidence in my research and myself while providing me with some professional experience. As an undergraduate, I feel fortunate to have attended the conference and would advise anyone who has the opportunity to attend a conference to do so.

Andrew Lemieux, UBRPer in Dr. Erik Henriksen's lab, Physiology