Paul's diary
Biography
I am a final year PhD student working in the Academic Neurology Unit at the University of Sheffield. This will be my first time at the International Symposium on ALS/MND and also the first time I have presented at a major international conference.
I am currently investigating the function of a protein called Spastin, which is mutated in around 40% of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) cases. In particular, I am interested in the effect mutant spastin has upon the transport of important molecules through nerve cells, and how this may cause disease in HSP patients. A better understanding of the transport system in nerve cells will also help us understand the causes of more common types of motor neurone disease.
The final entry - 17 December 2007
I left Toronto on the evening of the final day of the conference. We arrived at the airport and I was astonished to find a pint of beer cost $10! I bought one anyhow. The announcement at the gate informing us that the plane we were supposed to be flying with was unable to leave Toronto that night was met with numerous groans of disappointment. We eventually left around midnight. By this point I was $40 worse off.
I arrived home and slept for many hours, and it took me a couple of days to get back to normal routine. Back to work the following day and straight into the lab – busy times ahead in the New Year methinks. Laura and I were asked to do a summary presentation for the rest of the department, which was a good way of recapping what we had seen the week before.
The meeting was an invaluable experience for me. Not only did I further my presentation skills, but I am now much more aware of the huge international effort and commitment being put into MND research.
I arrived home and slept for many hours, and it took me a couple of days to get back to normal routine. Back to work the following day and straight into the lab – busy times ahead in the New Year methinks. Laura and I were asked to do a summary presentation for the rest of the department, which was a good way of recapping what we had seen the week before.
The meeting was an invaluable experience for me. Not only did I further my presentation skills, but I am now much more aware of the huge international effort and commitment being put into MND research.
Day 3 – The final session
Today was the first day since being in Canada that I have woken up without the thought of my talk. Nice. Bit of a sore head due to the Labatts, champagne and whisky combo from last night, but it is worth it. The snow has nearly gone due to the heavy rain last night, in which we got drenched whilst trying to find the Italian restaurant that no longer exists in the Toronto suburbs.
The final day finished with the same high quality as it began, as there were a number of good talks today. This included two presentations on zebrafish models of ALS and their potential for high throughput drug screening to identify candidate pathways of disease. The final session included a very interesting biomedical talk on using nasal mucosa biopsies to evaluate glial cell responses in ALS patients, which may turn out to be an important general technique for measuring other biomarkers in future clinical trials.
So I’m going back to the airport now. There are rumours of another snowstorm tonight, so I’m hoping they aren’t true. This is not only because I don’t want to be delayed in the airport, but also because I’ve nearly run out of money. I’ve had an excellent time in Toronto and the conference has been superb.
The final day finished with the same high quality as it began, as there were a number of good talks today. This included two presentations on zebrafish models of ALS and their potential for high throughput drug screening to identify candidate pathways of disease. The final session included a very interesting biomedical talk on using nasal mucosa biopsies to evaluate glial cell responses in ALS patients, which may turn out to be an important general technique for measuring other biomarkers in future clinical trials.
So I’m going back to the airport now. There are rumours of another snowstorm tonight, so I’m hoping they aren’t true. This is not only because I don’t want to be delayed in the airport, but also because I’ve nearly run out of money. I’ve had an excellent time in Toronto and the conference has been superb.
Day 2: The day of my talk
I can now relax properly as my talk is over and done with! I think it went reasonably well, as I didn’t faint or vomit. Although I was on autopilot for most of the talk, I now feel the excessive practising over the last week has been worthwhile. Overall I am very pleased with the experience.
It has been another compelling day of scientific talks and there was also a quality poster session this morning. The highlight of the day, for me, was the presentation that demonstrated the combinational expression of fluorescent proteins in the mouse central nervous system, allowing us to trace the processes of individual motor neurones. Although still in the early stages of development, I imagine this technique will play an important role in furthering our understanding of neurodegeneration in ALS models.
I attended the conference gala dinner last night. One of my supervisors, Prof. Pam Shaw, was presented with an award that recognises the hard work and commitment she has devoted to both clinical and scientific MND research. After the dinner, (and possibly the finest ‘surf n turf’ I’ve ever experienced), Laura and I battled our way through a snow storm whilst walking back to the hotel. I woke up this morning in downtown Toronto to find a few inches of snow. Whilst I walked to the conference centre, I instantly regretted bringing the shoes with the holes in.
It has been another compelling day of scientific talks and there was also a quality poster session this morning. The highlight of the day, for me, was the presentation that demonstrated the combinational expression of fluorescent proteins in the mouse central nervous system, allowing us to trace the processes of individual motor neurones. Although still in the early stages of development, I imagine this technique will play an important role in furthering our understanding of neurodegeneration in ALS models.
I attended the conference gala dinner last night. One of my supervisors, Prof. Pam Shaw, was presented with an award that recognises the hard work and commitment she has devoted to both clinical and scientific MND research. After the dinner, (and possibly the finest ‘surf n turf’ I’ve ever experienced), Laura and I battled our way through a snow storm whilst walking back to the hotel. I woke up this morning in downtown Toronto to find a few inches of snow. Whilst I walked to the conference centre, I instantly regretted bringing the shoes with the holes in.
Day 1 of the conference
After arriving in Toronto on Tuesday night, I have just about acclimatised to the below freezing temperatures. Visits to the CN tower, Niagara Falls and a few quality restaurants have helped to keep the nerves down to as minimum this week. My friend Laura has volunteered to be my audience whilst I have been practising my talk this week, though she must be terribly bored of seeing it by now. But on the upside, I now feel as prepared as I can be for tomorrow afternoon.
Today was the first full day of the conference and was I very impressed with the quality of data on show. All of the talks were stimulating, but I found the work describing the derivation of transgenic motor neurones from human embryonic stem cells the most interesting. This sounds like a technically difficult area to master, but holds great potential to produce really promising results in MND research.
Today was the first full day of the conference and was I very impressed with the quality of data on show. All of the talks were stimulating, but I found the work describing the derivation of transgenic motor neurones from human embryonic stem cells the most interesting. This sounds like a technically difficult area to master, but holds great potential to produce really promising results in MND research.
22 November - less than a week to go
I leave for Toronto next Tuesday and am in the process of making my final preparations for my presentation. I am giving another talk on Monday, which will serve as good practice for the talk in Canada a week on Sunday. As this is my first time presenting data at a major international conference, I am obviously apprehensive about delivering my talk in front of such a prestigious audience, but strangely, I am also quite excited!
I am, of course, also excited about the conference itself. I am looking forward to seeing the latest scientific and clinical data hot off the press. It’s a brilliant opportunity to observe the most up-to-date approaches to MND research, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of information out there which will be useful for the lab in Sheffield.
So, 5 days to go before I leave. Just checked out the weather in Toronto- its zero degrees and snowing! Note to self - I really must buy a warm coat before I leave. I have visited Toronto once before, but due to flight delays only managed to stay there for one night. So I am really looking forward to seeing a bit more of the city this time round.
I am, of course, also excited about the conference itself. I am looking forward to seeing the latest scientific and clinical data hot off the press. It’s a brilliant opportunity to observe the most up-to-date approaches to MND research, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of information out there which will be useful for the lab in Sheffield.
So, 5 days to go before I leave. Just checked out the weather in Toronto- its zero degrees and snowing! Note to self - I really must buy a warm coat before I leave. I have visited Toronto once before, but due to flight delays only managed to stay there for one night. So I am really looking forward to seeing a bit more of the city this time round.
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