Student researchers cite home-field advantage as a "win" in hosting PSNA conference

Judd, a 2013 biology graduate, attended the conference on a National Science Foundation travel award and gave a poster presentation.  She is currently a research associate in the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

What did it mean to you and your fellow students/researchers to have Virginia Tech host the 2022 PSNA? 

It was nostalgic for me. It was beautiful to see how much the campus has changed and developed. It was nice to meet and reconnect with previous professors again, and good to know that I will forever be in my network. 

What were some of the biggest takeaways for you?

That phytochemicals have various functions and capabilities to save people from providing medicine and food. It was also nice to meet people from industry and government, and I learned a bit about the work life nature of these industries. 

How have you applied and/or will continue to apply the knowledge gained from the conference?

I hope to maintain the networks I've acquired to continue to learn from them and build on my knowledge in plant biology.

Can you please speak to the value of having the conference in-person and the networking opportunities it provides?

It is so much better to build connections and networks with people in person than virtually. I was able to talk and converse with other attendees from government and universities, that I wouldn't have been able to do if it was online. 

Rebholz, Ph.D. candidate in the Tholl Lab, enjoyed being a part of the planning team as the host university, with a special opportunity to shine a light on student and faculty research in the plant specialized metabolite community to potential post-doc and graduate student applicants.

It also provided an opportunity to highlight the work of the Translational Plant Sciences Center, School of Plant and Environmental Science, and the Departments of Biological Sciences and Biochemistry.

What did it mean to you and your fellow students/researchers to have Virginia Tech host the 2022 PSNA? 

Having Virginia Tech host the 2022 PSNA was very meaningful to colleagues at Virginia Tech in many ways. For students, having opportunities to participate in the local organizing committee was a really good experience. It was a chance to gain leadership skills and learn about the inner workings of what it actually takes to organize a conference.

Have you attended previous conferences? If so, in which ways was this conference distinctive (if applicable?)

This conference was distinctive in that, while other conferences I attended were gigantic and centered around broad topics (such as entomology, which has numerous subdisciplines), the PSNA was smaller with a more focused topic. This was good because it allowed for more focused networking opportunities to my research interests and a greater sense of community in our field.

The format was also such that there was an egalitarian approach to research presentations that allowed graduate students like myself to present in symposia alongside faculty and post-docs, whereas other conferences had graduate student talks in specific sections with generally much lower attendance.

How did you participate in the conference? 

I was on the local organizing committee where I largely was involved in organizing events for graduate student attendees such as a career workshop. I also presented a research talk at the conference.

What were some of the biggest takeaways for you?

One of my biggest takeaways was the chance to meet people from all over the country and in many cases internationally who are doing very relevant research to my own. I also appreciated the opportunity to present my research at a main symposium vs. smaller student section. 

How have you applied and/or will continue to apply the knowledge gained from the conference?

Seeing research from diverse systems and research questions with similar goals in mind as my own research gave me the opportunity to see unique as well as cutting-edge methods that impacted how I approach my own research. It was also good to get a feel for the current state of research in my general field and meet the people doing it, as this will be valuable in my search for a post-doc position and career post-Ph.D.

Can you please speak to the value of having the conference in-person and the networking opportunities it provides?

I have been to online conferences before and the difference is night and day. When attending conferences online, it can often feel like you are more of a voyeur than an actual attendee. There is less of a feeling of community and the networking opportunities just don't compare to meeting and talking to people face-to-face.

By attending in person, I was able to meet and have really interesting conversations with many of the handful of people worldwide doing research in my specific focus (terpene biosynthesis and metabolism in animals). I don't think that would have been possible in an online format. There is just something to being in the same room as other people that really fosters these kind of opportunities. 

VanWinkle says the in-person conference format allowed her to practice public-speaking skills that otherwise are hard to exercise behind a screen. She cites the experience as "inspiring, and reinvigorated a love of research at a pivotal moment in her educational career."

Have you attended previous conferences? If so, in which ways was this conference distinctive (if applicable?)

This was what I consider my first conference! I've presented at the virtual Dennis Dean Conference in 2021, but that in no way could have prepared me for a full in-person conference.

How did you participate in the conference? 

I presented a poster ("Determining the feeding success of insects on Arabidopsis thaliana with altered inositol pyrophosphates") and also attended each day of the conference.

What were some of the biggest takeaways for you?

This was my first experience in a truly specialized area of research. It was so amazing for me to not only be able to learn so much from the leaders in the phytochemical field, but also it was eye-opening to be listening to the talks and presentations and understand the subject. For me, it revealed how far I've come since my undergraduate years, and how far I can go!

How have you applied and/or will continue to apply the knowledge gained from the conference?

The conference came at a pivotal moment for me, as I was beginning to explore career options for myself following my graduation in May 2023. The conference also introduced me to Dr. Jonathan Gershenzon with the Max-Planck Institute. We are now in the process of organizing a collaboration to further my research into glucosinolates in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Overall, the conference enriched my love of science and research and reinforced my plan to pursue a Ph.D. in plant-related sciences. 

Can you please speak to the value of having the conference in-person and the networking opportunities it provides?

Having the conference in-person was invaluable. I know that I'm not the only one who feels it difficult to dedicate 100 percent of my attention to a virtual talk. The in-person nature of the conference allowed for total immersion in the science - something I haven't been able to experience fully before.