{"id":1855,"date":"2019-02-22T16:01:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T16:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-medicine\/?p=1855"},"modified":"2019-02-22T16:36:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T16:36:46","slug":"good-conference-calls-how-to-make-a-success-of-your-first-academic-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-medicine\/2019\/02\/22\/good-conference-calls-how-to-make-a-success-of-your-first-academic-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Good conference calls \u2013 how to make a success of your first academic meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stephen
\nMedical <\/strong>student Stephen Naulls shares his experience from attending his first international academic conference and offers some tips on making the most out of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

As a medical student, I felt apprehensive but excited about presenting at my first international conference in California. Since I had never been to the USA before, my surroundings \u2013 both geographically and scientifically \u2013 were very alien to me! I thought it would be useful to reflect on my experience and offer some tip for future conference first-timers.<\/p>\n

Which conference was I attending?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Neuroscience 2018<\/em><\/a> is the annual international meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Bringing together scientists and researchers from across the globe, it provides an opportunity to share knowledge and learn about the latest advances in brain research. It is considered to be the most important annual forum for the neuroscience community \u2013 and this was certainly evident on first arrival at the convention centre!<\/p>\n

What was I presenting?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I was presenting work I completed in the fourth year of my MBBS degree<\/a>, where students undertake an intercalated BSc year in a specific research pathway, as part of my end-of-year project. I decided to do the Neuroscience & Mental Health BSc pathway and I can say with confidence it was my best experience at medical school to date.<\/p>\n

\"StephenThe research carried out at the Nick Davey Laboratory \u2013 where I was based \u2013 is incredibly interesting and has lots of long-term potential clinical translation routes.<\/p>\n

I was specifically using a technique called an ischaemic nerve block, which transiently reduces the blood supply to a participant\u2019s limb using a tourniquet (a compressing device) for a short period of time, blocking its sensory input to the brain. It is then possible to use a non-invasive form of brain stimulation (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and electromyography to monitor changes in cortical excitability that occur as a result of this loss of input. These changes in excitability are a result of the brain remodelling to adapt to such a change\u2013 also known as neuroplasticity. We had interesting results, which I hope BSc students in the future can continue to work on and find equally interesting findings worth presenting in such a prestigious international forum.<\/p>\n

What did I get from the experience?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As an undergraduate, no matter how much you simulate it, you simply cannot replicate the conference environment. Neuroscience<\/em> in particular is exceptionally<\/strong> intimidating when you first turn up. There were over 30,000 attendees this year \u2013 it took around 15 minutes to walk from one end of the conference centre to the other!<\/p>\n

There were posters on everything neuroscience: autism, addiction, dementia, stroke, cortical excitability (my favourite!), and even one assessing the manual dexterity of pianists versus ordinary people, and how you might use that in neurorehabilitation! For a neuro-obsessed medical student, there was so much to take in and it was quite motivating seeing the seemingly infinite avenues researchers across the globe are pursuing to better understand the brain.<\/p>\n

There was also lots of Imperial representation \u2013 Professor Simone de Giovanni<\/a> and Professor Richard Reynolds<\/a> (who both gave invaluable lectures on the Neuroscience & Mental Health BSc pathway last year) were presenting their work. It was a real honour to chat to them in such an environment and to be able to place it in the context of my teaching from last year.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I was grateful enough for the excellent standard of teaching I received at Imperial until I was put in this environment and expected to be able to interact with scientists in an unfamiliar format. I would urge any medical student to take this kind of opportunity if it comes your way \u2013 you will really develop your skills as a scientist and young researcher!<\/p>\n

Tips for making the most of your first International Conference as a medical student<\/strong><\/h2>\n