Artiscence

 I went to San Jose, California to attend a conference. But while there, I had loads of fun with my colleagues and friends. After all, " all work and no play .... ". You get the idea. San Jose is not too big and the surrounding area is easily accessible by train. So the first "non-academic" event was simply strolling around the area.  I had to present my work the next day. The presentation was in the form of a poster presentation. I had presented this before and I am quite familiar with my work, so I was not apprehensive. Also my dear friend and (senior) colleague was there and getting feedback from her was definitely good. After the presentations, I enjoyed a well-earned rest sipping drinks at the hotel bar with friends. I do not drink much but the company was divine and I couldn't refuse when the bar guy concocted what looked and almost tasted like lemonade but burns a little while going down the esophagus. :)  The next day...

Grandiose! I've been looking for a word to describe the majestic mansions of Newport, RI. And grandiose fits the bill perfectly. Funny enough, I didn't take as much pictures as I would have love to. I was in Newport for a conference (the New England Society of Toxicology. It was my first NE-SOT conference since joining a toxicology lab) and I was giving a presentation so I didn't exactly gallivant about like a giddy tourist. I have to go back sometime, just to gallivant about like a giddy tourist. ;).                                                      Newport, RI is beautiful.

This is Ochre Court in Newport Rhode Island. The first mansion I ever stepped into. Although it is now used as part of Salve Regina University admin offices and events space, it still hold its grandiose in every way. The inside look rich and formidable. The outside has an expanse that will probably house half a dozen small buildings. It was a windy day, but the view was still very impressive. The court has an amazing garden (if I can call it that). It is well-kept and overlooks the ocean. There's a Cliff Walk along the building and garden. The New England Society of Toxicology (NE-SOT) Conference was held in Newport and the students poster presentation was held in Ochre court. It was quite distracting actually. I spent half the time marveling at the detailed ceiling paintings (you'll see why in a moment) and the other half trying to explain my research to other students and principal investigators. In this amazing room, I was told stories of...

I've been to the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) three times now, twice as an undergrad and once (so far) as a graduate student and I think this might be my last (maybe).  The ABRCMS is a conference devoted to the leadership training of minority students. It is largely focused on encouraging higher learning, i.e. graduate school, medical school or something akin to those two.  The first time I went to ABRCMS (2008, Florida), I had just started my Junior year in college, I was still undecided on graduate school or medical school, but I knew it would be one or the other. Also, I had just started independent study the summer before and gave a poster presentation of the lab's work. Again, being a junior, I found ABRCMS very appealing. It was in-fact the first large conference I had been to and seeing so many other students (that looked like me) interested in biology and research was amazing to me. ABRCMS promoted minority students involvemen...

One of the best things about graduate school (in my opinion) is the conferences. I get to travel to different conferences in different locations and present my research to fellow graduate students and faculty. It's a very good way to receive feedback and questions that I haven't thought about yet. Sometimes, as a graduate student, I can get very subjective about my research and going to these conferences helps me regain objectivity. Since it's just me working on it day in day out, I sometimes overlook something crucial like a control group or a treatment group or even a minor error of some sort and by presenting my work to others, they can easily see the things that I might have miss, thereby making my project stronger. Conference in Phoenix AZ . 2009  Another reason attending conferences is good is because I get to see other students and colleagues, which reminds me that there are other people out there doing something similar to what I do. Someone using the same ...