The 5th annual EMBL Australia Postgraduate Symposium (EAPS) was recently held on the 28th – 30th November at the Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane. Over 140 students learnt from leading researchers about current research, career progression and also networked with other students.
The symposium, entitled Translational Research: Linking Science and Daily Life Symposium, focussed on the importance of translatability in basic scientific research and the tools and techniques available to turn basic science discoveries into practical solutions in health and the environment. It explored a range of areas, from cellular to systems biology, bioinformatics to neurobiology and virology to ecology.
Prominent scientists delivered inspiring presentations, including keynote speaker Professor Ian Frazer who discussed the creation of the HPV vaccine and key factors in building a successful career. Students also heard from other researchers including, Associate Professor Natalie Sims, Associate Professor Cedric Bardy, Associate Professor Tracy Ainsworth, Dr Glen Begley, Professor Jenny Martin and Dr Kim-Anh Le Cao.
Travel grants were awarded to 22 students and over the three days, students participated in 70 poster presentations, 21 extended oral presentations and 40 short oral presentations.
The following students received awards:
- Best oral presentation: Sunyuan Zhang
- Highly commended oral presentation: Harrison Madge
- Best poster presentation, session A: James Fraser
- Best poster presentation, session B: Ankit Shukla
- SciArt Competition Winner: Sabrina Oishi
This was the first year the symposium featured a Science Meets Arts Competition. Students were invited to submit an image that captured both the science and art behind their work. The competition was very successful, with a number of strong applications received.
Thank you to the student committee, led by Jasmina Markulic, for their hard work in preparing for this event, and ensuring that EAPS 2018 was a success for all students, researchers and sponsors.
Thank you to the researchers who motivated and encouraged the next generation of scientists through their presentations.
A number of sponsors supported EAPS 2018 and were very generous with their donations. See below for a list of sponsors.
The planning for EAPS 2019, Models to Systems – Deciphering Biolcal Complexity, is already underway. EAPS 2019 will be held on Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th November 2019 at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
To keep up to date with the latest EASP 2019 news, subscribe to the EMBL Australia newsletter.
EAPS 2018 Student Committee
Jasmina Markulic, Sandra Brosda, Raul Gonzalez Pech, Felicitas Vernen, Elise Matuzelski, John Salamon, Constanza Martínez, Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, Kate Smith, Terence Lee, Natasha Brohier, Annette Jacobsen and Gerard Pernes.
EAPS 2018 Sponsors
Translational Research Institute Australia, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, The University of Sydney, Charles Sturt University, The University of Melbourne, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, University of Wollongong, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Monash University, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Australian National University,
INDUSTRY SPONSORS
Gold Sponsors
Stemcell Technologies
Silver Sponsors
Waters, Biotools, AGRF, Australian Biosearch, Scientifix
Platinum Sponsors
Macrogen Oceania, Illumina, CSL, Abcam
SciArt Competition Sponsor
Coherent Scientific.