Sarah Lehman Conference Summary
Sarah Lehman
Ph.D. Candidate
Physiological Sciences GIDP
Conference Summary
Biophysical Society Annual Meeting
Los Angeles, CA
February 27-March 2, 2016
I was awarded the HE Carter Travel grant to attend the 60th Annual Biophysical Society Conference in Los Angeles, CA. My abstract was selected for a 15-minute platform talk in a premiere cardiac muscle session, providing me the opportunity to present my work to some of the most notable scientists in my field of study. Given the broad audience of biophysicists, it was imperative for me to prepare in a way in which I understood my research to a level of detail that allowed me to field questions from novice scientists and cardiac experts who have been studying the heart their entire career. Additionally, presenting my work in a formal talk at a national meeting as a junior scientist helped me to build confidence and to begin to establish myself as a molecular/cellular muscle physiologist. I was able to discuss my research with a number of investigators who all work on cardiac muscle. They not only provided me with new ideas and directions to continue my research, but also a network of contacts for future employment opportunities.
In addition to the cardiac research that was presented, there were a number of ground-breaking systems that will allow for incredible discoveries in the coming years. A large focus of the meeting is the development of new fluorescent techniques to obtain higher, atomic-level resolution. These techniques will allow for investigation in a number of different fields, including muscle biology. For example, a research group from Tokyo has developed a fluorescent-visualization system in which they are able to monitor changing calcium levels in a beating heart of a live animal, providing a highly physiological measurement that is currently limited to in vitro studies. Once optimized, this technique will add insight into muscle regulation that will be instrumental in the progression of my research. Single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments were also highlighted throughout the meeting. The Tardiff lab currently uses FRET in an ensemble experiment and thus this technique could be highly beneficial to provide a higher resolution understanding of the dynamic activity within our experimental system.
Finally, this meeting offered a number of career-oriented panels for students to attend. There were professionals from academia and industry who provided insight into the daily life for both work forces. As students, we are exposed to the expectations of investigators in academia so it was beneficial to discuss and compare to those of industry. These sessions are very useful as I will be graduating in the next year and half and thus it is important to make informed decisions on my future career.
As in the past, the Annual Biophysical Society meeting was very beneficial to attend. I was able to improve upon my presentation skills, basic science knowledge, and networking skills. I am grateful to the HE Carter travel award for providing me with the monies to attend the meeting and I am looking forward to the Biophysical Society meeting in 2017.