I had the opportunity to present my research at the first meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society in New York City, from September 16-18. This was my first time presenting a poster, and I was not sure what to expect. My poster was titled “Mechanisms of PNA Transport to the Nuclear Compartment,” and it dealt with the research that I am doing at the Arizona Cancer Center under the direction of Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus with the help of the UBRP. Before my presentation, I had the opportunity to attend several seminars, many of which related directly to my research. These talks were insightful not only because some of the data was new and unpublished, but also because the research was presented in a manner somewhat different than published research. Some of the presenters were individuals whom I knew from reading their publications. It was especially rewarding when these researchers came to my poster session and discussed my data and its implications with me.

During my poster session, I was approached by a surprisingly large number of scientists interested in my findings. This might have been because my topic (concerning the delivery of peptide nucleic acids and their use as antigene compounds) was different from the majority of science presented at this seminar since most research in the field of oligonucleotide therapeutics is done with antisense siRNA. In any case, their questions forced me to think critically about my research methods and interpretations. There were also several presentations dealing with the clinical aspect of oligonucleotide therapeutics in treating human diseases. It was rewarding to see that the type of research that I am doing is actually helping in the treatment of diseases such as cancer.

In addition to the new insights gained into the research process and into my field of research, the conference allowed me to visit a great city. I had never visited the East Coast; so seeing New York was quite an experience for me. I visited Times Square and the Metropolitan Museum. Even the location of the conference was amazing to me. When walking from my hotel to the conference site, I passed New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Cornell Medical School. New York and its residents truly made positive impression on me.
Overall, the experience was very empowering and made me realize that the time I had spent in lab (and making my poster and writing my poster paper,) was well spent. I learned not only a lot of science, but also how to communicate and think critically.

I want to thank Dr. Ebbinghaus, the UBRP, and the Arizona Cancer Center for giving me the opportunity (and funding) to do the research that I presented at this conference.

Lenka Stankova, UBRPer in Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus’s lab, Arizona Cancer Center