Alison's diary

I arrived back in England about ten days ago, having had a week’s holiday in Japan after the symposium, which provided time for a much needed rest! I hadn’t realised how tiring the conference might be! But it was worth it.

I am currently in the process of writing up my notes from the meeting, but I am already thinking about ways to extend and improve my research based on the data that was presented. One thing that was clear from the conference, for example, was that it is equally important to understand the roles of non-neuronal cells as well as neuronal cells when studying the disease process and this is something that I would like to apply to my own research if possible. I may need external help with protocols etc in order to pursue this idea, but having met some of the other MND researchers, I would feel happy approaching them for this help and confident that it would be provided.

For me the symposium has been an invaluable way to learn about the latest MND research as well as stimulating new ideas, contacts and enthusiasm for future work and I am very grateful that I was able to attend.

Today is the final day of the symposium and I was relieved to have the talk completed by mid-morning. It was not as nerve-wracking as I had thought it might be, and I’m pleased to say that I actually quite enjoyed it! In fact, I’ve enjoyed the whole conference. I’ve learned a great deal about current research in the field that will, I’m sure, be useful in my future work. But also it has been good meeting the members of the MND research community; they are a welcoming crowd.

Things at the conference have been so busy that I’ve hardly had a chance to see Yokohama, let alone the rest of Japan, so it’s just as well I have a 7 day break tagged onto the end of this trip! How will I spend my last night in Yokohama? Doing something that comes highly recommended by several different sources, including the Lonely Planet – having a meal in Chinatown! To remember the conference I will take home some of the origami cranes that have been made by members of the Japanese ALS association especially for the occasion. They symbolize the members’ best wishes for the symposium and their hopes and prayers for the success of the continued efforts to combat ALS; and on a personal note they will remind me of the generous, hospitable nature of the Japanese that I have experienced, even from such a short stay in the country.

The Gala dinner last night was good fun; a 5 course meal and entertainment comprising a drumming band and traditional Japanese dancing (the audience participation was executed with varying degrees of finesse!). I opted for a quiet night after that; a sensible move, as the poster session this morning turned out to be a great way of learning about current research and meeting the investigators themselves. Although MND research is expanding, the scientific community gives the impression of being a friendly, close-knit group and it is not so hard to find links in research topics and connections within groups when you start talking to people.

Some of the presentations today discussed the validity and reliability of the models used to study MND and how they can be best applied in research. It’s a reminder of the importance of thinking outside the box; of not relying too much on particular concepts and remaining creative in your ideas. Often some of the most interesting research addresses issues that you would never have thought of yourself. Which leads me to my anticipation of the questions that I might get asked at the end of my presentation, I’ll be doing some final preparations this evening and trying to expect the unexpected tomorrow!

I arrived in Yokohama yesterday after a 25 hour door-to-door journey. The conference hotel is great; right next door to the main event and my room has a fantastic view over the harbour. I didn’t quite beat the jet-lag but I’m not doing too badly; at the moment I’m more concerned about losing my voice a few days ago and whether my vocal chords will recover in time for the presentation on Saturday!

One of my first impressions of the symposium from the introductory talks this morning was that the conference has quite a personable feel to it. With both clinical and scientific sessions taking place and patients attending the event, it is a reminder of the bigger picture, which can be all too easily overlooked when you’re working on the research side in the lab all day. I particularly enjoyed Professor Kimura’s talk this morning about patient care in Japan, which placed much emphasis on taking a positive holistic, and even spiritual approach to treatment. The scientific sessions this afternoon were interesting too and I’m looking forward to more of those tomorrow. Tonight, though, is the gala dinner with speeches and awards, I’m off to get ready now.

With just over a week to go until I fly to Tokyo, things have suddenly got very busy and I'm juggling report deadlines and talk preparations on top of the normal work-load. Additionally, there's the organisation of the trip itself - at the moment I'm desperately trying to remember which hotel I've booked into!
I'm really excited about the Symposium; the programme suggests a wide network of MND research and plenty of interesting and applicable topics to hear about. It's a privilege to be presenting our lab's data, but it's also quite daunting! This will undoubtedly be the largest and most distinguished audience so far in my career and I'd be lying if I said the notion wasn't met with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation! There will be a great deal of information to assimilate over the four days, and I'm determined that jet-lag will not hamper the process. So, I've decided to try and re-set my body clock a day or two before my arrival, which will involve staying up all night and sleeping all day - wish me luck! Now, about that hotel...