vascular discovery – The Early Career Voice

What to look forward to at Vascular Discovery 2022

April 21, 2022April 21, 2022 Melody Chemaly, PhD

The primary goal of the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions is to provide a forum for the timely exchange of information about new and emerging scientific research in lipids and lipoproteins, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, vascular biology, genomics, precision medicine, peripheral vascular disease, and vascular surgery.

This meeting is planned to kick-off on Thursday the 12^th of May at 7:00 am with an early career round table discussion session moderated by Robert C. Bauer, PhD and Cynthia St. Hilaire PhD. It will be the perfect setting to discuss ideas, including starting your own lab, mentoring, project management and work-life integration with friendly faces around a hot cup of coffee.

After the conference opening, Vascular Discovery 2022 will officially launch with plenary session 1, which includes several concurrent sessions, each covering novel concepts of atherosclerosis. The new discoveries related to inflammation and atherosclerosis will be presented during a packed oral abstract presentations session including the role of autophagy in foam cells as well as the link between plasma cholesterol and the chromatin landscape of bone marrow monocytes. In parallel, another session will be running for those interested in listening to the new research related to the cellular biology of the vessel wall. These topics were launched by a presentation by Jiliang Zhou, MD, PhD about the discovery of long non-coding RNA CARMN and smooth muscle cells. Some of the exciting topics which will be covered during this session are related to the interplay between the endothelium and the inner vasculature. An exciting talk to look forward to is by Paul Cheng, MD, PhD from Stanford University, about the human arterial cell atlas. Discussions on the interplay between COVID-19 and thrombosis will also take place in a concurrent session.

After lunch, the day continues with presentations by the 2022 ATVB Journal Early Career Investigator Award recipients and followed by plenary session 2 with subjects covering lipid metabolism, vascular cells and thrombosis, or hot topics presented by the AHA Career Development Awardees. The day will end with a poster session and reception, which will be a great networking opportunity!

The second day of Vascular Discovery 2022 is also scheduled to start with a special session for Early Career Researchers specifically focused on perfecting your CV and motivation letter. Plenary session three will begin with the stimulating topic of the shapeshifters in the vascular disease, mostly focused on endothelial and smooth muscle cell plasticity, before dividing into three concurrent sessions which will handle various topics from novel therapeutic targets in atherosclerosis to the vascular effects of antithrombotic therapy as well as health disparities in peripheral vascular disease. Plenary session four will include the Page Junior Faculty Research Award Competition featuring exciting topics with a major interest in smooth muscle cells differentiation before splitting into concurrent sessions covering metabolic disorders, platelet production, signaling, and function, or polygenic risk scores for risk stratification. The Hot Off the Bench Oral Abstract Presentations will be a great way to meet the authors of the hottest research currently being done on vascular diseases.

The last day of Vascular Discovery 2022 will be highlighted by the plenary session 6 with a list of invited lecture series covering genomic aging in cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease.

After meeting virtually for the past two years, Vascular Discovery 2022 will be an in-person meeting this year, reuniting us again to discuss our passion for science, form new collaborations, share experiences and finally see each other again after a long break.

Registration for the Vascular Discovery Conference is now open!

“The views, opinions, and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness, and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke, or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

How Poster Presentations Are Vital to the Conference

April 1, 2022March 23, 2022 Gaganpreet Kaur

The poster presentation provides an excellent platform to communicate research findings and promote networking visually. Poster presentation helps make clever use of time and space for scientific discussion among conference attendees, thus are beneficially for both presenter and the conference organizer^1,2. The outbreak of COVID-19 dramatically changed our lives, especially traveling and gatherings. With most scientific conferences online or hybrid, we now have an option of “e-posters”. Instead of printing your poster, you can submit a PDF version and insert a 2 to 5 minutes long video discussing your poster. In my opinion, e-posters are more beneficial as they allow you to share your work from the comfort of your home. Besides, speaking from personal experience, you can present your work at more conferences and across the borders without worrying about funding.

What are the benefits of poster/e-poster presentation, and why should you consider doing it?¹

Posters offer the opportunity to network and communicate with other attendees from your field, leading to collaborations and job offers. My own postdoctoral offer results from a conversation during a poster session.
Due to time constraints and limited slot availability, not every trainee receives a chance for oral presentation. However, poster session allows a vast majority of trainees to share their work. Besides, question & answer session for oral presentation is typically 5 to 10 minutes and does not allow in-depth conversations. Conversely, poster sessions usually last a couple of hours, thus providing a platform for more extended discussion without time constraints.
You can discuss specific aspects of your research receive detailed critiques, and impartial discussion/review by peers that can help you improve your work, ideas, or potential manuscripts. It can even provide you a new direction for your project.
Poster presentations are an excellent platform to improve your presentation skills. One advantage is that those poster sessions allow you to explain your research differently. You can present as short as 3 minutes but can go up to 15-20 minutes. You also learn to communicate your work visually and verbally to a broader audience.
In my opinion, abstracts and poster presentations are one of the ways to show your potential employees that you are active in the scientific community and participate in the meeting. Besides, almost all the conferences have poster awards thus, you have an opportunity to keep a feather in your cap or, should I say, resume.

What are some of the things to keep in mind for poster/e-poster presentation?

Remember, the poster’s purpose is to visually communicate the latest research in a quick, efficient, and effective manner². One should design your poster considering the readers and venue, especially doing an e-poster. Most people will view e-poster from their laptop screen; therefore, font size needs to be adjusted so that they don’t have trouble reading. Besides, a person might stop on your poster for less than a minute before deciding whether to engage in in-depth conversation or not. Therefore, I cannot emphasize enough the inclusion of graphical abstract, and your overall poster should synchronize as an illustrated abstract of your work. For more tips for designing a poster, please read a detailed article by Dr. Adam M. Persky².

Two personal tips, something I learned over the year, are that:

Don’t hesitate to invite people to your poster, especially when doing an e-poster. I have had valuable input to my projects from every person I invited to my e-poster. It helped me build my network too.
Prepare your talk based on your audience. Suppose you attend a general regional conference, where people from all fields of science like engineering and biology are coming. In that case, you should be ready with a layman summary of your work so that people from other fields can understand your work. However, if you are going to conferences focused on your area of research, then you can include detailed results.

What are Vascular Discovery 2022 abstract submission categories?

Aortic Aneurysm Disease
Apolipoproteins and Lipid Metabolism
Blood Coagulation, Platelet Function and Antithrombotic Therapy
Cardiovascular Precision Medicine
COVID-19
Functional Genomics and Epigenetics in Vascular Disease
Immune Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis
Immunity and Inflammation in Vascular Biology
Metabolic Disorders and Atherosclerosis
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis
Molecular, Developmental and Cellular Biology of Vessel Wall
Peripheral Artery Disease, Carotid Artery Disease and Stroke
Population Science and Genetics in Vascular Discovery
Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease
Therapeutic Targets in Atherosclerosis
Venous Thromboembolism and Lymphatic Disease

What are the Vascular Discovery 2022 poster award categories?

Kenneth M. Brinkhous Young Investigator Prize in Thrombosis and the Irvine H. Page Young Investigator Research Award: Finalists will receive a chance to present oral abstracts during the meeting, and winners will be announced during council dinner. The Brinkhaus Prize recognizes outstanding endeavors in thrombosis, whereas the Page Award encourages investigators to continue careers in arteriosclerosis and vascular biology. Both awards are aimed to recognize new investigators.
ATVB Emerging Scientist Award for Women is sponsored by the ATVB Women’s Leadership Committee and recognizes excellent research conducted by women in the field of arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology. The finalists will present their abstracts during the poster session, give a 2-minute rapid-fire presentation during the Mentor of Women Award Luncheon, and the winner will be announced during the Council Dinner.
ATVB Investigators in Training Award recognizes pre-doctoral and postdoctoral in arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology who are members of the ATVB Council. The finalists will present their poster abstracts, and the winner will be announced at the Council Dinner.
ATVB Diversity Outreach Travel Grants encourages minority, early career investigators and students, to participate in the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions
2 awards sponsored by the PVD Council (these are not competitions, and the winners will be recognized during the Council Dinner):

- The Alan T. Hirsch, MD Mid-Career Award in Vascular Medicine supports mid-career level investigators studying the peripheral vascular disease. This award encourages participation in the PVD Council and AHA activities by providing travel funds to attend the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions, present research in oral or poster format, and engage in discussion with senior investigators.
- The Robert W. Hobson, II, MD Early Career Investigator Award recognizes excellence in basic or clinical science in early career investigators in vascular and endovascular medicine, vascular surgery, or vascular biology.

Registration for the Vascular Discovery Conference is now open. Advance pricing opens on 4/1. Register now for the best price!

REFERENCE

Lab O. 7 reasons why you should present posters at a conference. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://people.clas.ufl.edu/oppenhe/2014/06/09/7-reasons-why-you-should-present-posters-at-a-conference/
Persky AM. Scientific Posters: A Plea from a Conference Attendee. Am J Pharm Educ. Dec 25 2016;80(10):162. doi:10.5688/ajpe8010162

Vascular Discovery 2022: From Genes to Medicine

March 3, 2022February 22, 2022 Huan Wang, PhD

Have you been lingering on what else is going on within the field of atherosclerosis research after this year’s Scientific Sessions in American Heart Association? You might want to check out Vascular Discovery 2022, a 2 ½-day meeting, which is sponsored by the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the Peripheral Vascular Disease Council, and the Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine, in cooperation with and the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (Flyer on the right).

What is the conference about?

One of the long-standing objectives of this conference is to provide a unique platform for colleagues to build valuable networks, establish potential collaborations and promote early career scientists via providing role model inspirations and mentorship opportunities. The advantages of direct social interactions are indisputable, especially when it comes to build meaningful relationships. This year’s Vascular Discovery will be held in-person in Seattle. It will bring colleagues from worldwide, share groundbreaking science and bridge different disciplines in a classic old fashion way.

Who should attend?

This event will appeal to scientists and clinicians in cardiovascular medicine, cardiovascular research, thrombosis research, clinical cardiology, molecular/cellular biology, vascular biology, vascular medicine, vascular surgery, endocrinology, genetics, functional genomics, hematology, immunology, nutrition, and physiology.

Past highlights and feature events

While the planning committee is finalizing the abstracts and awardees, we can take a glimpse of what happened in 2021, which will shed some lights into the 2022 scientistic sessions. Vascular Discovery presented a virtual experience to the attendees in 2021, because of COVID pandemics. Since COVID has been the primary attention in public and scientific communities the past couple years, one of the important focuses of Vascular Discovery 2021 is on understanding how COVID-19 affects vascular systems, to identify who and when to treat patients in vascular research and clinical trials. Other important discussions are on identifying new approaches to understand the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis via risk factor identifications, and a distinguished lecture was presented by Marlene Rabinovitch, M.D. on multiple approaches of identifying a therapeutic target for treating pulmonary hypertension. More highlights are shown in the American Heart Association website¹.

Are you excited about attending this year’s in-person Vascular Discovery: from Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions in Seattle? Stay tuned on the latest programming of 2022, which hopefully will be finalized and released in early March.

Registration for the Vascular Discovery Conference is now open. Early Bird pricing closes on 3/31, and Advance pricing opens on 4/1. Register now for the best price!

REFERENCE

1. American Heart Association. Science News 2021. https://professional.heart.org/en/meetings/vascular-discovery-from-genes

The Researcher’s Ultimate Toolkit: The PPI network Passion, Perseverance, and Interaction.

February 25, 2022February 22, 2022 Melody Chemaly, PhD

I had the pleasure of having a one-on-one virtual meet-up with Mabruka Alfaidi MD, PhD who won the ATVB Investigator in Training Award Competition during last year’s Vascular Discovery 2021 meeting based on her fascinating work on endothelial cells and IL-1b signaling pathway as well as her active involvement with the research community. We discussed her career path and her future projects which we couldn’t do without also going over the many hurdles that come our way as researchers. I decided to summarize the main themes that we tackled in a researcher’s toolkit which encompasses key ingredients to sustain a career in research: The PPI network.

Passion: Follow your passion, but it’s ok to be unsure

Mabruka Alfaidi is a postdoc at Louisiana State University and is currently an instructor seeking her research independence. For Mabruka, her passion for research started when she was a clinical cardiologist and when she realized that one needed to do more to save patients’ lives. Her PhD at the University of Sheffield in the UK opened her eyes to the field of IL1-b signaling in endothelial cells which further developed into her research passion and the basis on which she would like to build her future research career. Research without passion is unsustainable. Passion is the fuel which will motivate us to wake up in the morning (or in the night) and check the latest research, be inspired by the newest methods and design novel hypotheses. However, it is ok to be unsure sometimes when trying to figure out our next step; do we want to stay in academia, or should we venture into setting up this start-up that we always dreamed of? Nothing is really set in stone because research, just like our passion for it, is a dynamic process and it evolves.

Perseverance: It’s ok to fail

A career in basic research is impossible without facing failures and hardships. For Mabruka who started her research path with a medical background, failure, which is assimilated to losing a person’s life in medical practice, was not an option. However, life as a basic researcher is surrounded by failures. We have all struggled with experiments not working, manuscripts getting rejected, grant applications not receiving any interest and the list goes on. So, becoming a basic researcher coming from a medical background is definitely an adjustment. In those moments where doubt creeps into our heads and our confidence and self-esteem is at its lowest, it is important to be surrounded by the right people and inspiring mentors to give us this moral boost that we need to persevere and remind us that it is ok to fail.

Interaction: Network and share your experience, you are not alone

It is common for researchers to feel isolated in their own niche of research and drown in it. However, sharing one’s experience with the research community is important to learn from others and be presented with new opportunities. Mabruka’s experience with the AHA community helped in her career development as the organization provides funding opportunities for early career researchers as well as those seeking independence and is an important platform where basic and clinical researchers can communicate and find common ground. However, Mabruka’s involvement with AHA and other research communities is because she feels that it is important for a researcher to always ‘give back’ to the community as a way to acknowledge the help and contribution they received and carry on the flame.

Fifth Year at Vascular Discovery: How an Early Career Navigates Through a Virtual Event

May 6, 2020May 6, 2020 Shayan Mohammadmoradi

It is not news anymore that after World Health Organization (WHO) classified novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic, the real-life impact of the “new normal” started to show itself. We started to see the impact by pausing the research and of course, cancelation of all scientific events. As scientists shifted their focus toward the data analysis, manuscript preparation, grants or any other means of remote work, the American Heart Association also shifted its focus to keep events happening, virtually. This new mode of attending a conference has many perks including petting your dog when the field’s connoisseur is giving a talk, drinking coffee from your favorite mug, or keeping the PJs on. However, there is a trade-off. Navigating through a professional event such as #VascularDisovery20 is challenging by itself, let alone going after it when you are not physically present. The following tips will help you to turn this year into a great opportunity.

1: Networking with Peers and Mentors: Online Presence

Now that there is no opportunity to join a table for lunch, mingle during the dinner event or grab a coffee with your colleagues from other countries, increase your online presence by interacting with attendees on Twitter. Use the chat mode during virtual sessions to ask questions or chat with others. If you have a burning question about a talk, either tweet at the presenter or email them. This is a great practice for increasing your “professional” online activity.

2: Utilize the Home Stay

Now that you have a desk in front of you instead of sitting on conference room chairs (which are really uncomfortable from time to time), take notes with ease, have your screen open with relevant papers to the talk, take high-quality images from the slides you find important and download the available contents in advance from the #HeartHub. In addition, you can now have a comprehensive look at your favorite posters and get connected with the presenters.

3: Plan Ahead

Although you may think that you can easily jump to the laptop and login to the talk that is “live”, the reality may be different. There are still concurrent sessions that you need to choose which one you attend. Also, there is always a possibility of a technical problem, so make sure that everything is set and you know exactly which talk you are going after. Also, pay attention to the time-zone listed in the schedule.

4: Hangouts at Conference Evenings: Say Hello to Face Time or Zoom

It is an unwritten tradition that many attendees get together after a long day of scientific endeavors to sit down, chit chat and grab a drink. Use the ATVB Journal virtual happy hour with EIC Dr. Alan Daugherty as an example. If you would like to hang out with the “conference buddies”, reach out to them, set up a private virtual meeting and catch up. This is a great practice to break those shyness barriers, especially if you are at the early career stage.

It is obvious that nothing compares to be physically present among your peers, colleagues and mentors. However, during these uncertain times, we can still manage to make the most out of the opportunities we are offered. As scientists, we are always learning to overcome new challenges and come up with new solutions, therefore, navigating through a virtual event not only is a fun challenge but also is a great learning experience with many opportunities.

“The views, opinions and positions expressed within this blog are those of the author(s) alone and do not represent those of the American Heart Association. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them. The Early Career Voice blog is not intended to provide medical advice or treatment. Only your healthcare provider can provide that. The American Heart Association recommends that you consult your healthcare provider regarding your personal health matters. If you think you are having a heart attack, stroke or another emergency, please call 911 immediately.”

On The Front Line Of Vascular Discovery 18: Highlights From An Early Career Point Of View

May 30, 2018March 28, 2019 Shayan Mohammadmoradi

The 3-day #VascularDiscovery18 was filled with cutting edge research in different areas of vascular biology. Great exposures to senior scientists made it an outstanding opportunity for networking and starting new collaborations. In this short video, I tried to share a real-time experience of the event with an early career perspective in mind, asking senior and junior scientists about their ideas about the event and science in general.

Shayan is a caffeine-dependent Ph.D. Candidate at the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky. His research area is focused on vascular biology and lipid metabolism. He tweets @MoradiShayan, blogs at shayanmoradi.com and he is the Winner of World’s Best Husband Award (Category: nagging).

Vascular Calcification… It’s Complicated

May 16, 2018 Wei Ling Lau, MD

The Vascular Discovery meeting in San Francisco last week was whirlwind of learning and networking. My favorite moment was at the Friday 7 am Early Career Training session where, by coincidence, I ended up at the same table with @Ritu_Ganguly1, @MoradiShayan and @JeffHsuMD. We had all signed up to provide social media coverage of the conference via the Twitter account of the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), so it was great to meet them in person. Later in the day, Ritu and I worked (read: laughed and cried) through the Genome Editing Bootcamp together, a challenging case-based workshop led by the excellent Dr. Kiran Musunuru.

As discussed in my pre-conference blog, vascular research is extremely pertinent to chronic kidney disease. Children on dialysis can manifest the same arterial calcification as a 70 year old. An established mechanism in vascular calcification is the phenotype switch where vascular smooth muscle cells start behaving like bone cells, secreting matrix vesicles filled with calcium-phosphate mineral into the extracellular matrix. At the Vascular Discovery meeting Dr. Elena Aikawa discussed advances made in the understanding of matrix vesicles, which are critical precursors of microcalcifications. In a JCI paper, her group reported co-localization of the protein sortilin with caveolin-1 and tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase, and defined sortilin’s role in loading mineral into vesicles. Dr. Aikawa raised a follow up question: Would future therapies that block activation of sortilin prevent microcalcifications, and thus prevent vascular calcification?

Dr. Catherine Shanahan, who described the role of programmed cell death or apoptosis in dialysis-associated vascular calcification, discussed the interaction of aging and vascular cell phenotype change at her Vascular Discovery talk. Her lab has been examining the nuclear lamina, or network of filament proteins which are a part of the cell nucleus. It turns out that the aging vascular smooth muscle cell accumulates prelamin A (see Circulation Research paper), which leads to DNA damage and triggers the osteogenic phenotype switch. This raises the intriguing question: Can we reverse cell aging to block vascular calcification?

The nature of scientific research is that more questions are raised as progress is made. Scientific meetings such as Vascular Discovery have an important role in updating investigators and clinicians, fostering new collaborations and training early career professionals.

Wei Ling Lau, MD is Assistant Professor in Nephrology at University of California-Irvine. She is currently funded by an AHA Innovative Research Grant, and has been a speaker for CardioRenal University and the American Society of Nephrology. Follow her on Twitter @Kidneys1st

Vascular Discovery 2018: Prologue

May 7, 2018March 28, 2019 Shayan Mohammadmoradi

This year, the previously known ATVB conference will debut its new name as the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine 2018 Scientific Sessions. The collaboration of three well-known AHA Scientific Councils, (the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease and the Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine) will provide a unique opportunity for attendees to make the most out of their scientific experience, network with connoisseurs in the field and establish new collaborations.

As a scientist in the early stages of my career, my conference agenda will be focused on the followings:

Early Career Training Sessions – Hallmark of the Event

Attendees talk during the Early Career Sessions at ATVB17

Based on my experience from the last few years, I will look forward to attending the Early Career Training sessions. I was always captivated by the fruitfulness of these short sessions and how it helped me to shape my moving-forward career. This year, the first and second day of the conference will start with Early Career Training sessions. On Thursday, the Early Career Committee will share insights about succeeding at every stage of your career featuring talks on starting your own lab, work-life balance and transitions to the industry. The session on Friday morning is organized in cooperation with the ATVB Early Career Committee and will be focused on skills needed for difficult situations.

In my opinion, the points that will be discussed during talks in these sessions and their following Q & As will provide ample insights about how to modify your move toward future steps of your career.

Network, Network, Network!

The smaller setting of Vascular Discovery ‘18, compared to AHA Scientific Sessions or similar events, allows you to see more and to be seen more. You will have more exposure to your peers and experts in your field of interest during different segments of the event. Try to stay away, as much as possible, from peers and people from your own institution and find new connections.

Before heading to the event make sure that you ask yourself “why am I going?” Are you looking for a possible position? Is it a recommendation that you may want? Are you interested in starting collaborations? Come up with a goal and make sure you accomplish it instead of aimlessly wandering around.

Attendees use the networking opportunities during the breakfast and registration at ATVB 2017

Now that you have a networking goal, make sure to have an effective introduction when meeting someone new. Make eye contact, smile, and state your name and institution clearly then, listen (believe it or not, it is easy to miss these points when you are nervous).

Also, make sure you are not forgetting business cards and lean on “I just gave away my last one!” Moreover, have in mind that you will not remember the important details of every conversation, so be prepared to take notes. The whole purpose of networking is to connect with people in the near future and taking notes will make it easier.

Personally, I believe that networking is one of the priorities in attending any scientific sessions and being proactive and prepared for it will help you to make sure that you get the most out of it.

Poster Sessions – Land of Opportunities

If you are attending Vascular Discovery ‘18, you are probably aware that your research falls within the overall themes of the conference. Therefore, you find much more topics that you will be interested in, compared to more comprehensive meetings.

This point will specifically come to your realization during the poster sessions. Posters are one of the crucial currencies for communications and connections. Given the fact that how powerful posters are in making connections and receiving feedback, whether you are the presenter or the presentee, you should make sure to plan your attendance to the “land of opportunities.” Based on personal experience, visiting the posters from well-known research groups in your field of interest can help fostering strong working relationships. It would be helpful if you familiarize yourself with the names and even pictures of people who you may be interested to talk to, so you can approach them during the poster sessions.

In the case of you being the presenter, it is recommended that you prepare different versions of talking points, a short elevator pitch for less curious and a longer version for one’s with deeper interests. Finally, be open, enthusiastic and passionate during your presentations and do not be shy to ask people earlier in the day to stop by your poster.

Final Words

Vascular Discovery ‘18 will be filled with sessions discussing cutting-edge research from world-renowned scientists. Therefore, it would be worth it if you spend time on the final program and pick out the sessions/talks which you would be interested in. In case you will not be able to attend this meeting or some of the sessions, make sure to follow my special coverage of the event on my twitter (@MoradiShayan).

At the end of the day, also note that a full day of scientific quests may get overwhelming, so plan to have fun after the conference and enjoy the beauties of San Francisco.