I have been extremely fortunate to be accepted to present my first year research project on Influence of Dopamine Transporter Knockout from α'β' Kenyon Cells on Associative Memory in the 21st Biennial European Drosophila Neurobiology Conference in Cologne, Germany. This has been an incredible opportunity and it was wonderful to connect and interact with a vast array of fantastic scientists working in this field.
The Neurofly conference consisted of five days, with each day consisting of plenary lectures from Keynote Speakers, oral presentations, and poster presentations. It was amazing learning about all the research happening around the world and seeing so many like-minded people interacting and improving their research together. It was remarkable to learn about so many different parts of Neuroscience, from learning and behaviour to disease and motor control. It was also incredible to be able to present my research to other scientists in the field, and in return gain priceless connections as well as valuable feedback on my presentation skills and scientific method.
It was also wonderful to meet so many academics during the networking sessions. Below is a picture taken on board the Rhine River Cruise during which I was able to speak with scientists and gain lots of highly considerate advice on my future academic journey from academics. Additionally, during the final session of the conference I was able to visit the CAVE Virtual Reality Facility and was incredibly lucky to meet Richard Benton, a well-respected scientist in the neuroscientific field and the PhD supervisor of my Laidlaw research project supervisor Vincent Croset (which officially makes him my academic grandparent)!
Overall, this experience has been wonderful and incredibly useful. I would wholeheartedly recommend any Laidlaw scholars with the opportunity to attend and, if possible, present at a conference to go for it, even if you will be the least experienced person there!
I am extremely grateful to the Laidlaw Foundation for both funding the research I presented and for supporting me with this opportunity, and to the Organising Committee for Neurofly 2026 for coordinating this incredible event. I would also like to thank the Croset Lab team for assisting me during the conference, and in particular my supervisor Vincent Croset for encouraging me to apply to this opportunity and Cameron Westland and fellow Laidlaw scholar Aiden Masiero for working with me on my research.