AAAS conference in California

It took place on the 12th-16th of February 2015 in San Jose, California, USA. During the conferences I assisted as a session aide at press conferences and at various talks and I also presented a research project that I conducted last year in Dr. Justin Goodrich’s laboratory at The University of Edinburgh.

AAAS is an international non-profit organisation that aims to enable science to benefit a broad society. It is also a publisher of some of the most prestigious international journals, such as Science. Every year, it organises a science meeting in a different city in the USA. When I learnt about AAAS annually conference I knew that participating would be an extraordinary opportunity that would truly broaden my horizons. Therefore, I did my best to be able to take part. I was accepted to present my research in the Student Poster Session under the category of Cellular and Molecular Biology. Moreover, I received a James Rennie Bequest travel grant and further funding from Interconnect Inspire Student Grants that helped me to cover my expenses related to the conference. Finally, I was accepted to work as a session aide at the conference to receive a free registration.

The project that I presented at the conference was completed during the past academic year at The University of Edinburgh. I worked under the supervision of Dr. Justin Goodrich, whose laboratory investigates the genetics and epigenetics of plant development. The aim of the project was to investigate the role of DOF6 transcription factor in programmed cell death in the Arabidopsis thaliana endosperm. This objective was addressed by designing artificial microRNAs targeting DOF6 and introducing them into Arabidopsis plants in order to silence the gene. The seed endosperm phenotype was consequently studied. Furthermore, it was tested whether expression of a DOF6 transgene can rescue the defective endosperm phenotype in mutant plants. Findings from this study are an important first step towards the characterization of the DOF6 gene in Arabidopsis. The identification of the genes functioning in endosperm will be of practical importance as the bulk of human food is provided by endosperm of cereals.

My time at the conference was in one word amazing and I am very grateful that I could participate because opportunities like taking part in the AAAS Annual Meeting do not arise often for undergraduate students. The conference lectures and workshops enabled me to gain new knowledge and acquire innovative approaches. I also improved my organisation skills by assisting as a session aide which I really enjoyed. In addition, attending the conference allowed me to interact and network with current or future world-leading experts from various academic institutions, which is vital in an ever more globalised and connected world and scientific community. Moreover, I presented and shared results of my research which I think is very rewarding to myself personally but also beneficial for the larger society.

To sum up, the AAAS conference was an awesome experience that definitely helped me to become a better scientist. It was a great reward for my former work and also a huge motivation to try my best in future.

Me during presentations in front of my poster on The role of DOF6 in programmed cell death in the Arabidopsis endosperm