October 5-9th 2024 | The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is one of the largest international conferences in neuroscience, bringing together thousands of researchers, clinicians, and students to share the latest advances in brain science. At SfN 2024 in Chicago, our Lab Members Parnaz, Amanda, and Kamryn had the exciting opportunity to present Smith Lab’s latest findings on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying pain perception and social behaviors!
Presenting at SfN provided a unique platform for them to connect with fellow researchers, exchange ideas, and receive valuable feedback that will drive future work in understanding complex emotional and social behaviors at the neural level.
Below, we will dive into our Lab Members’ experiences at SfN!
What were the Key highlights of this conference for you?
Parnaz: “Being able to spend time with Amanda and Kamryn in Chicago was amazing. I was especially so proud to see Kamryn present at our poster considering she did absolutely wonderful despite it being her first time presenting a poster and attending a conference. Proud mentor moment!”
Amanda: “SfN is a huge conference, and the highlight for me is seeing so many posters where people are presenting at various stages of their projects. I especially love connecting with fellow trainees and feeling a sense of camaraderie when we discuss navigating similar challenges in our projects.”
Kamryn:“The biggest highlight for me was meeting all types of different scientists, and learning about how different people go to where they are now. I found that everyone was so honest about their experiences, it was inspiring to hear.”
Did you attend any particularly memorable talks or sessions? What were they about?
Parnaz: “The most memorable mini-symposium for me was the one centered around research in empathy. Being able to listen to legends in the social neuroscience field like Christian Keisers and Weizhe Hong was so inspiring. The mini-symposium highlighted developments in empathy neuroscience research and it was fascinating to see it all laid out before us so we could gauge where the field is at this time.”
Amanda: “There were so many incredible talks, especially on advances in social and behavioral neuroscience! My favorite was Dr. Rob Froemke’s talk titled ‘Love, Death, and Oxytocin.’ It made me reflect on the birth trauma experiments we’re working on in the lab. Their progress in uncovering the neural circuits underlying unique ‘midwife’ behavior in mice is really exciting. Talks like this remind me of the immense value in studying animal behavior.”
Kamryn:“I attended a really interesting poster session. It was from Shelly Buffington’s lab, and was about maternal obesity and how the microbiome and probiotic supplementation affect the autism-like social behavior seen in the offspring.”
Were there any emerging trends or new techniques in neuroscience research that stood out to you?
Amanda:“Quantifying social behaviors between interacting animals is definitely a challenge in behavioral neuroscience, and the field of computational ethology has been essential in addressing this. I really enjoyed Dr. Bob Datta’s talk, where he outlined the innovations his lab has made in developing machine learning algorithms for unsupervised behavioral analysis of individual animals. I’m excited to use these tools in the lab and apply them to understand how social interactions change in our food deprived bystander mice during the social transfer of pain.”
Outside of the conference…how was Chicago? Did you do any exploring? Where did you go and what did you do?
Parnaz:“We went on a boat tour of the Chicago River and learned a lot about the architecture there. Our hotel was so close to the main downtown area and the Bean so it was exciting to be able to walk to anywhere from our hotel. Surprisingly, the Bean was much smaller than I thought it would be haha.”
Amanda: “I am so glad I got to explore Chicago with my beloved lab mates! We went on a Chicago river tour and spent time after the conference exploring the surrounding city.”
Kamryn:“Chicago was awesome! It was my first time in the city, and I loved it. I went on a boat tour and learn about the architecture, and saw beautiful views of the skyline. I ate some delicious food and walked around the river and of course saw the bean. It was really fun to explore, I could see myself going to graduate school.”
A Question for our Undergrad Researcher, Kamryn! How was your experience attending the SFN conference for the first time? What was the most surprising aspect of the conference that helped calm your nerves?
Kamryn: “My first time at SfN was an incredible experience. I was so nervous and felt really strong imposter syndrome, but what helped me and surprised me was that everyone was so open with their similar feelings as well. Learning that scientists at every level have these feelings made me feel more like I belonged. One thing that helped my nerves at the conference was the mentors I had there. They showed me the ropes; I learned how they interacted with poster presents, I could ask questions about concepts I was unfamiliar with, and overall having such supportive role models guide me through my first conference made it the experience that it was.”
