While I was wandering around the home of IKEA, it occurred to me that it might be fun to take a few pictures so that I can share the experience with everyone else!
I arrived at the bus/train station the day before the conference started up.
It was a quick 20 minute walk to my hotel. Nothing too fancy, but it was clean and always had Swedish meatballs available!!
It turns out the Swedes are nothing if not space-efficient! This is a photo of my hotel room:
As a side note, I was surprised at how many people mistook me for a native Swede and addressed me in Swedish! I couldn't help thinking about my favorite character from the Muppet Show...
In all seriousness, though, everyone I met in Sweden was wonderfully helpful, and wonderfully bilingual.
The day after I arrived in Sweden, I headed over to the conference center. Unfortunately, the weather was less than hospitable...Here's a view from the conference center's window:
At any scientific conference, there are always exhibitors and vendors, trying to sell you this microarray platform or a subscription to that scientific journal. However, I think this particular exhibitor deserves an "A" for originality!
Truthfully, some of their pieces were quite lovely, if somewhat nerdy...
Once I signed in at the registration desk, I was given the conference goody bag. You always get one of these bags, and it is usually filled with fliers and pens and programs, etc. Personally, I love the bag. It fits my laptop nicely, is very sturdy, and I think it makes me look uber cool.
Eventually, of course, it is time to get down to business!! This is the view from my seat at the opening address. It was a packed house!
Now, conferences such as this one are a great way to hear the latest developments in your field. Also, it is a very important opportunity to share your own research with other scientists. Most attendees do this by exhibiting a poster showcasing their research. This year, we presented a poster on the clinical features of individuals with 18p- whose breakpoint occurred at the centromere. Here's a photo of the poster exhibition area. In the center of the hall, you can see all of the vendors and exhibitors, selling their wares.
And here's the actual poster! If I'd thought about it, I would have gotten someone to take a picture of myself standing next to the poster. Oh, well. Next time!
I'm happy to report that we had several scientists come by and talk with me about our findings and share their experiences with 18p- (or other chromosome 18 conditions)! I'm hopeful that this not only got the word out about our research, but that it also raised awareness for the Registry!!
And of course, there were plenty of opportunities to learn the latest and greatest in the world of genetics. Hot topics this year were how to classify copy number variants found on microarray analysis and the latest technology in genome sequencing, known as "next generation sequencing".
And that's the report from Sweden! It was a good and productive time, and I'm very thankful I had the opportunity to attend the European conference!
Those were awesome pics and notes! Thanks so much for sharing! Kind of makes me a little "home sick" so to speak, since I spent some time in Sweden about 7 years ago, and loved every second of it! Thanks for taking me back :D And love that Ch18 is getting more and more recognition!
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