The end of April is a wonderful time to be in Florida: the flowers are in bloom, the sun shines brightly and the air has yet to turn hot and sticky. It is no wonder that the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) holds their annual conference in Sarasota, Florida. I had the opportunity to attend this year's conference (April 25-29, 2007) where scientists from around the world gathered to present their research on taste and olfaction.

Each day was filled with morning and evening poster sessions and symposia and slide sessions packed in between. It was amazing to see the broad array of research conducted within the fields of taste and smell. Areas of research ranged from work at the level of receptor cells to genetic analysis to psychophysics. The conference provided a wonderful opportunity to network with other researchers as well as to gain exposure to new and interesting areas of study. One of the highlights of the conference was hearing Dr. Linda Buck, an HHMI investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center speak. Dr. Buck, along with Dr. Richard Axel, an HHMI investigator at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on olfactory receptor cells. Seeing and listening to a "scientist celebrity" in my area of research was quite exciting!

During the conference, I had the opportunity to present the work that I have been conducting in Dr. Leslie Tolbert's Laboratory at The University of Arizona under the direction of Dr. Lynne Oland, entitled "Development of the glial investment of glomeruli in the Drosophila olfactory lobe." Our lab studies the development of the olfactory pathway in the moth Manduca sexta and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Our research is aimed at understanding how the underlying neural circuitry of the olfactory pathway develops in these animals, with a goal of understanding how axon sorting and guidance occur during adult metamorphic development. For the past three years, I have worked with Drosophila examining the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the development of the olfactory pathway. For the entirety of a four-hour poster session, I presented this work on the investment of glial cell processes into the antennal lobe neuropil, a process that has been well studied in the moth and in mammalian systems like the rat. Although it is not easy presenting work to leading researchers and fielding their questions, by the end of the poster session I had become quite comfortable doing so. Overall, attending the 2007 AchemS conference was a fantastic experience.

Amidst all of the science, I also had the opportunity to see a bit of Sarasota, walk along the beautiful beaches and enjoy the fresh fish. As a graduating senior, the opportunity to present my research was an important capstone to my UBRP experience. I would encourage all fellow UBRPers to try to present their work at a conference during their time as an undergraduate. It is a fulfilling experience and an important one as a member of the greater scientific community.

For this terrific experience, I must extend thanks to the Undergraduate Biology Research Program and the HHMI grant for providing me with a travel grant as well as the Microscopy Society of America Undergraduate Research Scholarship for providing further financial support.

John Biebelhausen, UBRP alum, worked with Dr. Lynn Oland in the Tolbert lab, Neurobiology. John will be attending Tufts University School of Medicine to begin a four-year MD/MBA in Healthcare Management combined degree program.