ASCB PhotoAn academic year is over, and a new one has begun. For us in the lab, it may seem like nothing has changed as our daily load of experiments continues. But the way I see it, a new academic year ushers in new conferences (and yes, this includes ASCB’s 2014 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, which if you haven’t registered for yet, you should!)! Conferences represent the best about science: A gathering of minds, sharing of information, discussions of data both published and unpublished, and chances to meet the people working in the field—Nobel prize winners, established or young PIs, and other grad students and postdocs. With that said, here are my approaches toward a successful conference season ahead:
1) Find the right conference(s) for you: Some conferences are huge, others are small, more intimate meetings. Yes, even with conferences, size does matter. Which is best for you can depend on how you act in a crowd and what you are looking for. Both types of conferences can be great to meet other scientists. Smaller conferences give you a chance to meet everyone in your field. These conferences are very focused on a specific topic, which may help graduate students and postdocs to learn in depth about a topic of interest and make contacts in their field. In contrast, a large conference like the ASCB, AHA, ABSMB or other annual meetings also allow you to meet a lot of people, and benefit from the broad scope of sessions and topics to allow selection of sessions to attend based on interest and use to your research. They also provide an opportunity to learn about many different topics and techniques that might be beneficial to you in the future, as well as introduce you to different scientific perspectives and points of view. In addition to the size of the meeting, choosing the proper topic, whether general or specific, may depend on the stage of your career. Early-stage postdocs and graduate students may gravitate to smaller conferences to immerse themselves in their new topic of research, to learn what’s new and also meet all the main people involved. In contrast, bigger meetings with a wider scope, can act as a springboard for changing fields, for learning about new technologies, and for networking outside your field. These are important for people looking to widen their research scope or meet people and learn about science outside of their current topic, a potential prelude to deciding where to move in your research or career.
2) Read the sessions titles and the conference schedule: Now that you’ve chosen the right conference(s) to go to, you should look over the titles of the sessions to determine the focus of the meeting (this can also go in the previous step in the case of smaller meetings) and also to determine how to divide your time. This last one is essential for large conferences that tend to have multiple sessions going on at the same time. Being prepared ahead of time for where to go between sessions to make sure you attend all the talks you want to is very important. Many large meetings, like ASCB, have an app to help you schedule your time and find your way.
3) Study the list of speakers: This may seem obvious, but only when talking about the “big shots” in the research world. Skimming through the list of speakers at any conference, you’re bound to directly notice several of the main scientists in the field, but it’s critical to pay attention to those names you haven’t heard of before. Why is that, you say? Well, some of those names you don’t recognize may represent rising stars, people who have recently entered the research field with some poignant and important discoveries, and they hold a lot of promise going forward. Attending their seminars may actually provide a lot of “thrills” in the new science, techniques, or hypotheses they may bring into your field of research. So, go ahead, do your homework and look up their lab websites, research interests, and some publications. You might find overlapping interests that can fuel your own research forward, and spur you to pay close attention during their talks.
4) Plan to network, network, and network some more: Another benefit of looking over the speaker list (and when available, the abstract list and list of attendees) is to plan ahead for networking and meeting fellow scientists. This is particularly important for many reasons: asking for advice and discussing your research with others, looking for collaborations with scientists you may not be able to interact with on a more personal note than at such a conference, and applying for jobs. I have managed to initiate collaborations at every conference I have attended, as scientists are always looking to interact and help out. If you are you having a problem/question (or even just looking to expand the scope of your studies with new techniques) in your study that can be only answered by a type of experiment nobody on your side of the world does and there’s a person at the conference who does it, then go and discuss it with him or her. Ask her or him if s/he’d be willing to do the experiment if you sent over reagents/materials. People are surprisingly open to initiating collaborations as they help out both parties involved!
Conferences are possibly the best location for either an informal or formal job interview. Everyone you may want to work with is in the same location, your future PI may give a talk outlining the work done in his/her lab as well as future directions, you have a chance to see what all the “competition” is working on and think about how you can build on it, and you already have your “job talk” (poster or presentation) prepared and ready to go! If you’re at that stage of your career where you’re looking for a postdoc (for example), look to see if you would want to work with anyone at the conference you’re attending, then reach out to them with your postdoc inquiry and CV, and try to schedule a time to meet with them about potential postdoc positions during the conference.
5) Polish and prep that abstract to shine: In addition to learning at a conference, most attendees are also presenting their own data and projects, whether in the form of a poster or a talk. Make sure the abstract you submit carefully and elegantly presents your data, project, model/hypotheses, as well as some future directions and implications of your work. Regardless of whether you’re giving a talk, short talk, or a poster, your abstract and title will be in the conference schedule/booklet, and as such those will be the things noticed by other conference attendees first and foremost. An appealing abstract and title will capture others’ attention and make them seek you out, making the networking portion above significantly easier.
6) Check out the conference location, and learn more than just the science: Ever wondered what was fun about Maine, Keystone, New Orleans, Philadelphia or any other city your conference may be held in? Well, you’re not going to find out by simply getting a flight to the location, attending sessions, and then jumping on that plane back home. If attending a conference gives you an opportunity to travel somewhere exotic, new, or someplace you never thought you’d go to, take the opportunity to explore. After all, it’s probably built into the conference schedule, with time allotted for activities, and lots of conferences will provide suggestions or even organize trips! Make sure to enjoy your time, and you can prepare ahead by looking at nearby attractions and things to do. It might just make you the “cool/hip” person who “knows where all the fun stuff is.” Being in social settings with fellow grad students, postdocs and faculty gives you a chance to network in a more informal setting, and may be as useful as an actual sit-down meeting with any of the people you’re looking to network with!
These are some suggestions/tips to choose a conference and prepare for it in the best way possible, in order to benefit scientifically and career-wise. A conference is an opportunity to learn about other research and discuss your own, but also presents golden networking opportunities that you should make sure to take advantage of. In addition, conferences provide great career guidance and professional development opportunities, as well as short meetings with people who can shape your career, so be sure to take advantage of them by having an updated CV and a 1-minute “elevator pitch” to sum up your research elegantly. With all that said, don’t forget to have some fun at the conference! Now, back to generating enough data for that abstract, so you can attend the conference of choice in the first place…
About the Author:
Hashem is a Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Melanie H. Cobb, studying regulation and interactions of WNK protein family members. Email: Hashem.Dbouk@UTSouthwestern.edu
