Day 1 (Saturday) of the meeting was nothing short of exciting!!
The only problem with these large meetings is that there are multiple interesting seminars occurring simultaneously. How to choose???
The first symposium that I attended was on Translational Research. This area of research seeks to apply discoveries in the laboratory or field to the development of studies in humans. The first talk was on the evolving landscape for medical innovation given by K. Kaitin from Tufts University followed by a talk on finding the right animal models for translational research given by S. Prabhakar from Texas Tech University's Health Sciences Center. These talks helped to clarify how discoveries in animal research may benefit human health.
If you couldn't tell by now, I really enjoy communicating science, so I made sure to sneak out of the translational research symposium early to make it over to the symposium on Communicating Science. This was a great symposium with lots of useful advice and insight into communicating science as a career option as well as communicating science as part of our normal routine as researchers.
One of my favorite events each year is the Walter B. Cannon Memorial Lecture that marks the official opening of the conference. This year's talk was given by Roberto Bolli, a leading cardiovascular researcher from the University of Louisville. His talk was titled, "The Nitric Oxide-Carbon Monoxide Module: A Fundamental Mechanism of Cellular Resistance to Stress". You can read all about his research in this area here. I found it to be so inspiring!!
This talk was followed by the opening reception. I LOVE this event because I am able to catch up with researchers from across the globe that I have not seen since the previous year...not to mention the wonderful complimentary food and beverages!