National Conference on Undergraduate Research: The Pleasure of Conducting and Presenting Research among a Diverse Scientific Community

                                                                    

Michael Mu is a junior majoring in Biology. He was awarded a Spring 2019 Conference Grant which she used to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

Every 65 seconds, someone in the US develops Alzheimer’s disease (AD). That includes a whopping 1 in 10 people aged 65 and older and results in the sixth-leading cause of death in the US. In a time when the baby boomer generation is in dire need of geriatric care, it is imperative that we do anything we can to improve the health outcomes of our senior population. At the National Conference on Undergraduate Research(https://www.cur.org/) last week, I outlined the progress, future directions, and potential implications for AD of my research on the role of LCMT-1 in brain development. I hope my research will provide the mechanistic knowledge that is imperative for the development of therapeutic LCMT-1-targeting drugs. I am excited about my project because I am able to carry out the two aspects of science I love most—asking and answering intriguing basic science questions, and applying those answers towards the understanding of devastating diseases like AD and the development of potential therapeutic approaches that may ultimately combat human suffering.

The conference was one of the first that I have presented my research at outside of Emory, and the first time I gave a talk. Giving an oral presentation was a very different experience than presenting a poster because of the amount of time I had to more fully go through the details of my research. Because I was able to go in depth and take my time, I felt like I was able to engage with most members of my audience more, and as a result, several audience members asked some very insightful and helpful questions at the end.

At the poster session I then visited, made up of hundreds of student posters presenting research on a wide variety of topics from all around the country, I was amazed by all the cool work that undergraduates just like me are doing. I was surprised at the number of independent research projects that were conducted, even just in the form of conducting a survey on campus or doing archival research on an interesting societal trend.

Overall, while attending the conference, I felt as if I joined a community of like-minded young scientists just like me who all applied the same intellectual curiosity, passion for learning, and research rigor towards understanding our world better. It was inspiring to see so many students being so dedicated and committed to the pursuit of science this early on—as undergraduates, we are definitely not by any means required to perform research. That requirement is usually reserved for masters or doctoral students. However, it doesn’t mean that we can’t get started early if that is what we are truly passionate about! From the many people I met and the many meaningful conversations I shared, it is clear to me that I am not alone in this pursuit, and that many others my age are also struggling to learn and improve at the rigors of our fields. However, I thus left the conference even more inspired and assured that, like everyone else, I will grow into a contributing member of the scientific community.

Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Conference Grants.