I am deeply grateful to the British Microcirculation and Vascular Biology Society for awarding me the Terence Ryan Travel Award. This award has enabled me to recently attend the Gordon Research Conference: Angiogenesis and Social Interactions with Neighbouring Cells and Tissues in Health and
Disease, at Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
This conference, organised by Karina Yaniv and Anne Eichmann, brought together scientists from across the globe to discuss the latest developments in angiogenesis research. I particularly enjoyed the breadth of topics tackled, enabling the subject to be explored from many different perspectives. This included developmental angiogenesis, vascular malformations, angiogenesis in a cancer context, as well as discussions about the blood brain barrier. This, in turn, has encouraged me to consider my own research with a more holistic approach. The oral presentations were of exceptionally high quality, and I gained valuable insights about the newest ideas and methodologies from some of the top experts in the field.
Moreover, as a poster presenter, I benefited from the high level of engagement during the poster sessions. These sessions remained well-attended throughout the week, and sparked so many stimulating and constructive conversations. Indeed, these exchanges have given me much to mull over as I now write my thesis!
Finally, this conference has enabled me to meet other vascular biology researchers from so many different institutes scattered over a wide geographical area. When the world can increasingly feel a more divided place, I have made connections that reaffirm the unifying role of scientific collaboration. It truly was an exceptional week, and one I will look back on with very fond memories.
This opportunity would not have materialised without the financial support from the BMVBS, and I strongly encourage all students in the vascular biology community to join! I also credit the positive experience I had at the BMVBS Annual Meeting with giving me the confidence to attend my first international conference as the sole representative of my university. Thank you to the committee for making this possible!