...this thing is huge. When I first walked into the San Diego Convention Center for the Experimental Biology 2008 Conference, poster tube slung over my back and no idea where to go, I was simply struck by the sheer size of not only the Convention Center, but of the research community walking within its walls. As I tried to find the registration table, I walked by sign after sign advertising minisymposia, keynote speakers, poster sessions, exhibit demos...at first it was incredibly overwhelming, and it took a day or two to get my bearings. Once the feeling of being a very small fish in a very big, very smart pond began to fade, I realized the amazing sense of community that I had just walked into. Most superficially, I caught many strange glances and questions about the big tube I was carrying around in the airport. Yet, once I got into the Convention Center the strange looks were gone and they were on backs everywhere! Beyond that, everyone I contacted was open and friendly, and most were quite surprised that there were so many undergraduates at the conference. I was told a few times by professors and graduate students from other schools how great it was that UA had so many students at such a large conference. Anyone I spoke with, upon asking the golden question "what are you working on?" would gush at length about his or her research, and this question led me into some really great conversations.

Once the conference really got underway, I spent most of my mornings and late afternoons at symposia. The program of posters and talks for the conference was dauntingly thick, but in it was a list of talks that were all over the map, and I had a hard time choosing where to go. I learned about some great research close to my field -- for example, I heard about the links between heat shock proteins (which I study in plants) and both cataract formation and Huntington's disease. I also attended talks that were a little farther from home: a diet and obesity seminar, as well as a neurobiochemistry seminar. In the middle of the day, I spent time in the exhibition hall, looking at posters of all levels of research. The feeling of being overwhelmed would begin to rise again when I walked into this room. There were hundreds and hundreds of posters every day, clustered by related topic. While I was there as a part of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (ASBMB), there was also a huge number of people looking at physiology, nutrition, even education. It was humanly impossible to look at every poster, so I read a lot of abstracts and full posters for things that particularly caught my eye. What I really took away from this experience was the vast variety of biological research, and the richness of the research community. There were many scientists from other nations and this was a fabulous chance for me to see the international community of scientists.

Not only did I listen to a lot of people, I also presented my research twice: once at the ASBMB undergraduate poster competition, and again at the general meeting. Both times I was glad that it was not my first time presenting. I presented at the UBRP Conference three years in a row, so I felt very comfortable describing my research to everyone I spoke with. I also noted the caliber of research done by other biochemists at other universities. There is some incredible research being done by people so young! At the same time, though, I really feel that UA students are doing research of equal caliber and the experience reinforced my happiness with being an UA undergraduate researcher.

I would recommend that other undergraduates make a national conference part of their research experience. I left feeling inspired, and more connected to the national/international research community.

Megan Paul, UBRPer in Dr. Elizabeth Vierling's lab, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics