SICB Conference 2015!
SICB 2015 in West Palm Beach, FL was the first conference I'd ever been to, and also my first research poster presentation. It was an excellent way to begin the year (Florida in January!!). It was amazing speaking with other scientists about research. I swear the exchange of ideas and thoughts were visible as they flew around the room. I felt like I could've spent days at those poster sessions!
Speaking with many others about my poster was perfect not only for extending others knowledge about my research topic, but also my own. I learned about techniques and analysis I could've done differently. I learned different ways I could've presented and interpreted my data, and I also learned about gaps in my experiment that should be explored next. I felt intimidated at first, but I realized it's just a place to share knowledge and bring ideas together. Others were just as excited about my project as I was (and some weren't!), but that's the joy of having such a variety of interests together. I learned about experimental factors I probably never would have considered. I think speaking with others about my research has really caused my experiment to become more 3-dimensional in it's thought, exploration, and goals. I now have a list of things I want to look into during my next round of experimentation.
Another great aspect of SICB was meeting so many new people. Some were in very similar research fields, and some were very different, but it was all a great networking experience. Meeting all these people helped to show me all the options a person has to do research other than academia. I felt very privileged as an undergraduate to be there, and well prepared (thanks to all my mentors at Radford University). Speaking with PhD candidates and Masters students I was able to get a glimpse into what my life s a graduate student would be like, and lots of advice for when I get there!
Overall, it was fun seeing the trends in research exploration just like there are trend in fashion. I am very much looking forward to attending SICB and other conferences in the future.
Speaking with many others about my poster was perfect not only for extending others knowledge about my research topic, but also my own. I learned about techniques and analysis I could've done differently. I learned different ways I could've presented and interpreted my data, and I also learned about gaps in my experiment that should be explored next. I felt intimidated at first, but I realized it's just a place to share knowledge and bring ideas together. Others were just as excited about my project as I was (and some weren't!), but that's the joy of having such a variety of interests together. I learned about experimental factors I probably never would have considered. I think speaking with others about my research has really caused my experiment to become more 3-dimensional in it's thought, exploration, and goals. I now have a list of things I want to look into during my next round of experimentation.
Another great aspect of SICB was meeting so many new people. Some were in very similar research fields, and some were very different, but it was all a great networking experience. Meeting all these people helped to show me all the options a person has to do research other than academia. I felt very privileged as an undergraduate to be there, and well prepared (thanks to all my mentors at Radford University). Speaking with PhD candidates and Masters students I was able to get a glimpse into what my life s a graduate student would be like, and lots of advice for when I get there!
Overall, it was fun seeing the trends in research exploration just like there are trend in fashion. I am very much looking forward to attending SICB and other conferences in the future.
Some Research Extras:
Working with Noldus Ethovision:
Working with Ethovision has been great and allowed me to get some data that would have otherwise been impossible, such as velocity, total distance moved, and precise chasing behaviors. Here is a photo of the Ethovision software showing the tracking path of the male and female fish.
Working with Ethovision has been great and allowed me to get some data that would have otherwise been impossible, such as velocity, total distance moved, and precise chasing behaviors. Here is a photo of the Ethovision software showing the tracking path of the male and female fish.
You can see two fish in the tank at the bottom, the male on the left and the female on the right. The Noldus Ethovision software places the tracked paths overtop an established image chosen at the beginning. It it was a photo of an actual video being tracked, the lines would have fish at the front.
Extra Histological Photos