I'm a junior majoring in MCB, and I've worked in the lab of Dr. Alan
Nighorn, ARL Division of Neurobiology, since I joined UBRP in
the summer of 2007. Last week I went to the 31st
Annual Meeting of the Association for Chemoreception
Sciences in Sarasota, Florida to present our lab's research on
serotonin receptors. Serotonin (5HT) is an important
neurotransmitter; neuromodulation is a fundamental mechanism
of brain function. To understand these two important
things, we're studying serotonergic neuromodulation using
the simple system of the antennal lobe (AL) of the moth.
We've taken a molecular approach, studying the receptors
for 5HT. Our lab has cloned four putative 5HT receptors
and found that they're expressed in the AL and antenna
of the moth. Ongoing work is examining the cellular localization
pattern of the receptors. This research will contribute
to the understanding of the big picture of 5HT modulation
in the AL, hopefully shedding light on general principles
that also governs processes of the human brain
This was the first scientific meeting I have attended,
and I was so excited that I had a hard time sleeping
the night before the trip. So when Dr. Nighorn and I
arrived at the meeting after a day's travel, I was tired-but
that made the cool breeze that blew from the ocean feel
even more refreshing.
I really liked the weather in Sarasota, hot like Tucson
but not as dry, and with a breeze always blowing. The
meeting had a casual atmosphere-most people didn't dress
much more formal than Dr. Nighorn in his Hawaiian shirts.
I presented my poster, "Cloning and localization
of four putative serotonin receptors in the primary olfactory
pathway of the moth Manduca sexta," on the third
day of the meeting. We had gone to swim in the
ocean the day before, and I got sunburn on my back and
neck. As I was presenting, I noticed that some of my
audience also had fresh sunburns. Other than the physical
discomfort, my presentation went pretty well. However,
I didn't receive as many suggestions, as I had hoped
for.
With no experience in attending this sort of meeting,
I indiscriminately went to more talks and posters than
I could digest, and as a result I was overwhelmed. Of
the many talks I went to, I only understood a small proportion
of them, but they all vigorously stimulated my thinking
and gave me glimpses of all the knowledge out there that
I know nothing about. Likewise, from the posters I saw
many areas and methods of research foreign to me. All
in all, this conference was eye opening, and it impressed
on me the vastness of the sea of knowledge that's wider
and deeper than the vast waters of Sarasota Bay.
It's inappropriate here to sound like I've just won
an Oscar, so I will thank only a few people and be brief.
My getting this opportunity was largely due to the help
of Dr. Nighorn, who genuinely cares about the development
of his undergraduate students, and Dr. Andrew
Dacks,
who helped me immensely with research and gave me tremendous
confidence through his encouragement. UBRP, in addition
to nurturing my infantile research career, also paid
for my travel and registration, so thanks for that too.
Wujie Zhang, UBRPer in Dr. Alan Nighorn's lab, ARL Neurobiology
