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August 5, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, reflections, research

Summer Research Poster Symposium

Not going to lie, the poster and abstract week might have been the most stressful part of this summer.

In my opinion, this past week was the culmination of our research this summer because it was the week where we had to take our experiences and condense it to just the informative, practical, and educational aspects. It was particularly difficult for me because I have never written something like an abstract or made a scientific poster, so I was still learning as I went. What made it a little more difficult is that my specific research this summer has largely been working on my mentor’s project which won’t be finished while I’m here, so at first I didn’t really know what to write about. So the closer we got to the deadline the more stressed I got, but eventually, my mentor was a big help and worked me through some of my initial ideas and gave me some advice and edits, and eventually my poster and abstract were ready to go.

Leading up to the poster session, I had been really worried about presenting my research because I felt I didn’t know enough about my project. I asked my mentor and other people in my lab questions about some of the most basic things of our lab just to make sure I had it right or knew what I was saying. I spent the nights before the session just practicing my speaking and going over the information on the poster, and still, I felt unsure about my abilities, which I think is natural. After talking to the other interns, I almost feel that I went overboard on the preparation for the presentation, but I did it anyway because above all I wanted to feel confident in what I was saying and know that it was true.

The poster session turned out to be not nearly as bad as I thought it would be (Check at the end for lots of photos). My biggest takeaways from the poster session were that I knew more than I thought I did and that speaking about my project was scary the first two times, but after that, it wasn’t stressful at all. I remember being really afraid when the first person came to my poster and I explained to them my research, but by the third or fourth person I realized that I didn’t have to worry, I just had to say what I know. One of the graduate students in my lab complimented my confidence in my presentation, saying that using confidence when speaking is one of the most important parts about a scientific presentation.

But something that I will never forget is the feeling of being surrounded by all these posters with amazing work on them. Something I wish I got the chance to do was to walk around more because I didn’t get to see nearly as many posters as I had liked.

Everyone in that room had been doing amazing work this summer, from ethnic demographic research of the city of Austin to cancer research to research about fire ants, there were just so many great ideas and posters that represented months of hard work.

Everyone in that room is an incredibly driven and intelligent person, and it’s realizations like that that make me excited to be apart of a community like this.

This was my first poster presentation, and I’m really glad it happened. I feel like every time afterward won’t nearly be as scary, I just had to rip the band-aid off this first time. Poster presentations and scientific meetings or conventions, in general, are important because I feel like they are the gathering place of scientific thought, the birthplace of scientific inspiration and innovation. Where intellectuals from many different backgrounds doing their own amazing work all come together to admire and celebrate the work of the scientific community as a whole. Now, I’m not saying that this small poster presentation by University of Texas undergraduates achieved all of this, but that it was a smaller representation of the larger scientific community, and it’s how I imagine the BMES conference will be like in Philadelphia. Can’t wait 🙂

-Michael Miramontes, University of Notre Dame

Here are the photos I promised!

  • Jaime Chen, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Jessica Heard, Auburn University
  • Michael Miramotnes, U of Notre Dame
  • Joshua Ni, Johns Hopkins University
  • Simon Blanchard, Villanova University
  • Maggie Cook, Arizona State University
  • Joel Mudloff, UT at El Paso
  • Reetwan Bandyopadhyay, U of Pittsburgh
  • Jubin George, U of Arizona
  • Mia Harguchi, Yale University
  • Dara Oluwadara, Rice University
  • Angelica Marquez, UT at El Paso

July 29, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, graduate school, learning, research

Importance of good communication from scientists

Dr. Thomas Lindsay recently spoke to us about the important relationship scientists have with their audiences and made the connection easy to visualize via a triangular diagram in which each connection between speaker, audience, and subject are all intimately related but do not necessarily share equal weight. It is never the audience’s fault for misunderstanding the message being relayed, so scientists are encouraged to adjust their communication channels for different groups. For example, in order to fully understand the topic being discussed, an audience full of businessmen might require different terminology or visuals than that of scientists from a similar field of interest.

This seminar came at a perfect time for us since we are preparing to present both oral and written versions of our research to different groups of people. Since the audiences will differ from our poster sessions to our written abstract submissions, it is important for us to begin thinking of how we might adjust our communication channels. This can range from limiting the amount of technical terminology used or including carefully labelled visuals that can be easily understood by anyone.

The process of writing our abstracts began during this seminar with a peer review. This eased a lot of nerves since we are all comfortable with each other, but still gave us a space to gather constructive feedback on our early drafts. We each made sure that specific questions were answered in each portion of the abstract and things were written in a clear, yet concise manner.

Though we didn’t get a chance to do another verbal practice run of our presentations, Dr. Lindsay still covered how to most effectively grab the audience’s attention, keep them engaged by presenting the practical application up front, and help the audience visualize the need and benefits for the solution to the topic of discussion.

scientists talking about a poster
A look into a poster presentation done by another undergraduate in my lab


We are only days away from submitting and presenting our research from this summer, which is mind blowing because these 10 weeks have flown by. However, with the help of Dr. Lindsay, our graduate mentors, and program coordinators, we are more than prepared (and excited!).

These communication skills will follow us for our entire career as scientists, and we have an opportunity to exercise them early on.

-Jessica Heard, Auburn University

July 22, 2019, Filed Under: 2019, cancer, research, texas4000

Letter to Texas 4000 Rider: Diana Zhang (Rockies Route)

Dear Diana,

My name is Jubin George, and I am currently a rising sophomore from the University of Arizona. Currently, I am at the University of Texas at Austin for the summer researching tumor spheroids and ways to image them. While looking through the profiles of the different riders, I was able to relate to something that you mentioned in yours. Fortunately, just like you, I have never had to deal with any of my immediate family members getting affected by cancer. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that I have been totally immune to the effects of cancer. During my senior year, my English teacher was also diagnosed with breast cancer. A friend of mine lost her mother to lung cancer about 6 years age. Seeing her and her sister having to deal with their mom’s death was heartbreaking.

I still remember thinking what I can do to help. Cancer appears to be such huge obstacle and even today, it sometimes makes me think if I could even make a difference. This is where you and Texas 4000 come in.

Knowing that I am not alone in this fight against cancer gives me hope.

It makes me realize that we are all in this together. And for that, I thank you.

2-photon microscope
Ultima IV 2-Photon Microscope, the microscope I’m using to image spheroids

Right now, it looks like you are in Smithers, British Columbia. I wish you good luck for the rest of your journey and hope that you finish strong and safely. And again, I want to say thank you for making me and numerous others realize that we are not alone in this fight.

-Jubin George, University of Arizona

Diana Zhang is a 2019 Texas 4000 rider currently rider from Austin to Anchorage with the Rockies Team

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