Category: 2023

The WIC+ professional development travel grant enabled me to attend the Photosynthesis Gordon Seminar and Conference in July 2023 in Newry, Maine. At the conference I learned about new and unpublished research being done in all areas of photosynthesis. As a physical chemist, it was particularly useful to learn from theorists and biologists that work on similar problems as me, but with different techniques and approaches. I also really appreciated the opportunity to meet international collaborators in person. Discussing projects we have been working on together for years in person was so much more exciting than on zoom! I presented a poster at both the seminar and the conference on research I recently submitted for publication. This was the perfect time to present this work because I could advertise the new manuscript to scientists in the field and I received insightful feedback for the next steps in the project.

I would like to thank WIC+ for the opportunity to attend this conference. It was a great time and helped me grow academically and professionally. I am grateful for WIC+’s support and all that the group does year-round for the department.

Thanks to the WIC+ Professional Development grant, I was able to attend the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Brisbane, Australia this summer. This was my first time attending an academic conference, and it was fulfilling in many ways. I had the opportunity to network with a ton of scientists, including many international researchers and collaborators I had never met in person before.  I also spoke with representatives from companies that work on HIV diagnostics and treatment, further confirming my interest in a career in biotech or pharma. Presenting my poster also led to a lot of constructive conversations on my work. In addition to the basic science area I presented in, this conference also included researchers in clinical science and public health, as well as members of the community living with HIV. Getting to learn from and present to people of such diverse perspectives was an incredibly valuable experience and gave me a more wholistic understanding of the field across the entire care continuum.

I had a great time at the 2023 Bioorganic Chemistry Graduate Research Seminar and Conference. I made several new friends, networked, solidified my interests in pursuing a postdoc in chemical immunology, and left with new ideas. Overall, I experienced a general sense of inspiration and gratitude for being a part of the chemical biology field and its wonderful community of scientists.

I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the Gordon Research Conference in Galveston, Texas, in January 2023, made possible by the WIC+ professional development grant. The conference included inspiring research talks where established PIs shared published and unpublished results in peptide-based materials. The program also included the broader fields of polymer- and protein-based biomaterials, exposing me to a wide range of research topics. I learned a lot not only from the talks but also from the extended discussions afterward.

This was the first GRC for peptide materials and my first exposure to a community that closely aligns with my interest. The WIC+ grant also supports my poster presentation on the collagen-mimetic peptide hydrogel I have been working on for my graduate studies. Being able to receive valuable and constructive feedback from fellow trainees and established PIs while I am working on the manuscript has been immensely helpful. I want to extend my gratitude again for the generous support that WIC+ has provided during this process. I hope more colleagues in the department will take advantage of this great opportunity.