Melissa Lynn Conference Summary
Melissa Lynn
Ph.D. Candidate
Physiological Sciences GIDP
Conference Summary
Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions
New Orleans, LA
July 13-14, 2015
A major advantage of the BCVS scientific session put together by the American Heart association is its comparatively small size. Approximately 600 people from all over the world attend this meeting, with some of the top researchers in cardiovascular sciences among them. This year was my second chance to attend and present my research at this fantastic conference. As I mentioned in my application statement, the small size of BCVS is ideal for trainees such as myself to network with individuals in a more intimate setting whom we may never get to meet at a larger one. This year I had the fortune of not only reconnecting with top researchers in my field but also to present my research to people in industry that were at the conference. This wide array of people that the BCVS meeting attracts is a huge benefit to me at this stage in my training. Since I am currently about a year and a half from graduation I am thinking more regularly on what my next step will be, BCVS made it possible for me to connect with people in both academics and industry.
I presented my research in the first poster session of the meeting, and was very happy to get a lot of traffic throughout the two hours it was up. During that time, I got some very good feedback on the future directions of my research. I was also able to connect with a couple of people that came by my poster; these connections may lead to future post-doctoral positions or position in industry. The next two poster sessions were very good as well and I made my way through many other researchers’ posters in order to advance my understanding of topics I don’t get to focus on often.
Overall the seminar sessions at the meeting were also of a high quality. This year the talks mostly focused on the state of stem cell therapy in the heart and the role of the mitochondria in heart failure. Neither of these topics are exactly in my field as I study genetic thin filament cardiomyopathies, but the opportunity to learn about both was fantastic. It was also extremely helpful because I learned about many techniques used in these fields that may have application to mine such as the CRISPR/Cas9 targeted genome editing system.
As was the case the last time I attended BCVS in 2014, BCVS 2015 was a wonderful opportunity to grow as a scientist and make valuable connection in my field. I am looking forward to attending BCVS 2016 in Phoenix, and am very grateful for the support of the HE Carter travel award.