The Microbiology Society Annual Conference was held on 8 - 11th April, in Edinburgh UK, and this year, had a strong representation of microbiologists from the School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University!
Our PhD students, Gemma Cooper and Brandon Moulds had the opportunity to present their research at the conference, and benefited from some lovely feedback and many suggestions for future directions. Gemma gave a talk about her project investigating the antiviral potential of volatile compounds from Nigella sativa in the Virus Workshop: Translating knowledge - Understanding and Preventing Disease; Brandon presented a poster on his research on tackling norovirus by a novel disinfection method.
A particular highlight was the Peter Wildy Prize Lecture by Dr Lucy Thorne (Imperial College London), who gave a fantastic talk about her various outreach activities, with a great overview on routes into getting involved with public engagement. The Celebration of Virology session started off the conference with a range of fascinating virology talks, with the diversity of topics extending across the four days.
Aside from the science, the conference offered our PhD students an opportunity to explore the beautiful Edinburgh, and meet and mingle with other virologists. The Careers Session - Transitions: Career paths outside academia was an interesting session, with an inspiring talk by Dr Ashley Otter (From Petri Dishes to Pandemics: A career in public health at the UK Health Security Agency).
Overall, the conference was a great opportunity for us to present our research, get feedback from the community, and return to the lab with many ideas for our next experiments!
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