Tayyab Shah ’15: Experimental Biology Conference 2015

How did you discover and attain this opportunity?

At the end of my junior year I was awarded the Peter N. Curtin Memorial Prize by the Department of Chemistry. It gave me funds to attend any conference that I was interested in. My thesis advisor recommended the Experimental Biology conference.

Which scientific conference did you attend?

I attended the Experimental Biology conference in Boston from March 27-31. The Experimental Biology conference was a large, interdisciplinary conference consisting of various biologically oriented societies including the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Association of Anatomists, and the American Physiological Society. Some of the major topics included cancer biology, inflammation/immunity, cellular transporters, etc.

What were the highlights?

The entire conference was great! The conference really broadened my horizons about all of the interdisciplinary research that is going on connecting biochemistry and medicine. Listening to lectures from the leaders in their fields was a wonderful and enriching experience. I especially enjoyed going to the plenary lectures of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which covered topics that were related to my own research. 

What did you take away from the experience?

The experience was very enriching and I got to see all of the amazing research that is going on in fields that I am genuinely interested in. Seeing the big questions and puzzles that researchers are tackling in cancer biology, immunity, cellular transport, cellular communication, and noncoding RNAs was an invaluable experience and will definitely inform my decisions when I look for research opportunities in the future.