... held in Washington DC was not only an educational experience, but also a great opportunity to interact with Arizona state representatives. The Experimental Biology Conference is an annual event in which more than 12,000 scientists share their work. The conference includes poster sessions, lectures, and equipment demonstrations. As an undergraduate researcher, I was able to participate in the American Physiology Undergraduate Poster Session as well as my scheduled poster session. During both sessions, I was able to interact with faculty and students from across the nation. One of the primary questions I had prior to attending the conference had to do with qRT-PCR, a technique I use in the laboratory. The conference allowed me multiple opportunities to talk to others about this technique and how they present their data, as well as look at posters that had already determined a way in which they felt the results should be presented. Now, back in the laboratory, we are considering re-analyzing our data based on what we learned at the conference.

In addition to the conference, Carol Bender was gracious enough to offer me the opportunity to talk to the staff members of three Arizona representatives including Jon Kyl, Raúl Grijalva, and Harry Mitchell, which I was happy to accept. Along with my faculty mentor, Dr. Paul McDonagh, I was able to share my undergraduate research experience with a variety of staff members and encourage them to continue to fund programs such as UBRP. My visit to each office was a bit surprising. Each time I sat to talk to the staff member, I was immediately asked what I wanted. I had to explain that I did not come with a specific request, but rather, I wanted to share my experiences with them and encourage them to continue to support our program.

Washington D.C. is a city rich with history, and I took every opportunity to visit some of the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust museum, as well as the monuments. I am grateful to UBRP and HHMI for providing the funds that enabled me to attend this conference, and I encourage other UBRPers to take the opportunity, should it present itself, to attend a professional conference. I guarantee you will see and learn more about the professional realm of research and science.

Corrine Walker, UBRP alum, Dr. Paul McDonagh's lab, Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery. Corrine will be attending UA Medical School in Fall of 2007. She was accepted in the medical student research program and will be conducting research on Chagas this summer in Lima, Peru with Dr. Charles Sterling.