Neuroscience 2014 - Saturday......

The following morning I felt about 1000% (note, not a typo) better. Writing about that part of the trip is a little embarrassing because I had a serious meltdown when, in retrospect, it doesn't sound like it was that bad. And it wasn't, any of those things in isolation or experienced while rested and relaxed would have been annoying but taken in stride. In combination and mixed together with complete exhaustion it was a recipe for disaster!

Leaving the hotel I got my bearings and figured out which way I needed to walk to get to the conference; it was just under a mile from my hotel. With a brisk autumn chill in the air I was already in love with DC. It was as things should be, a chilly November morning with bright sunshine. I walked past many a brownstone and was enamored of the beautiful buildings around every corner. Consulting Google Maps to make sure I was on course I soon arrived at the convention center! I could scarcely believe I was there!

I went in and was able, without too much trouble, get my conference badge reprinted. I had registered with plenty of time but the badge did not arrive before I left for the conference. I also picked up the conference materials. With Neuroscience being such a huge meeting you get a separate book detailing all the lectures, symposia and posters for each day.

I then spent some time standing in the never ending line leading up to Starbucks - it was right in the convention center and throughout the entire conference I never saw the line any shorter than a mile long. :) They must've made a fortune! Neuronerds need their caffeine!

After making it through I got lucky and nabbed a comfy chair in the lobby where I munched on a slice of pumpkin bread, sipped my chai tea and perused the "Saturday" book of all that was on at the conference that day. I had done some planning before I arrived but not as thoroughly as I would've liked so this was me getting organized and formulating my game plan for the day.

From there I attended a symposia: Improving Animal Model of Neuopsychiatric Disorders. This was a series of speakers discussing, in a very candid manner, the shortcomings as well as new considerations and methods for improving the validity of animal models used in neuropsychiatric research. I've always had these types of questions as a researcher who uses animals in the laboratory and this symposia cut right to the heart of the matter - it was like a breath of fresh air to hear leaders in the field discussing this topic so openly.

Then I made my way back upstairs to attend the first Presidential Lecture: A Living Record of Memory: Genes, Neurons and Synapses. The Presidential Lectures are always given by top scientists in their respective field providing a broad perspective, albeit high level, to the overall neuroscience community. As I mentioned earlier the conference was host to more than 30,000 scientists and the vast majority will attend the Presidential Lectures each evening. I don't know how to explain the incredible size of the room where the lectures were held. I'm guessing they can sit 20,000+ people down in that space!!!!!!! The photo doesn't really do it justice but it was taken before one of the Presidential Lectures.

That night I left the conference bleary-eyed but happy. I found my way to a nearby Chipotle and settled in to enjoy the flavors I can't get in NZ; to be fair we couldn't get Chipotle in Bozeman either. :) After that I returned to the hotel and spent some time looking over my plans for Sunday.