Drosophila Meeting Report
The 62nd Drosophila conference tied different research themes together using the model organism Drosophila. This talk was attended by professors and students from across the world, with my attendance following my research using Drosophila looking at iron supplementation effects on fertility and developmental timing. I attended talks centered around topics discussed in class and ones I found personally interesting. The conference consisted of five talks, four posters, an undergraduate platform, and interviews/questions with presenters. The topics/themes I focused on were diversity in STEM, factors affecting oogenesis & ovarian cell migration, stem cells in organogenesis, bacteria in the gut microbiome, dealing with physical/mental traumas, and new databases determining gene expression patterns.
All of the talks throughout this conference demonstrated the depth of research that can be performed with Drosophila. Each talks presented potential uses for Drosophila in solving complex scientific research questions. Many of the presentations discussed novel findings and methodologies that could help inspire an informed scientific audience to pursue the research further or incorporate these novel methodologies into other experiments. The general format of the conference consisted of live presentations and poster halls. Talks lasted for 15-30 minutes, while posters were open for two weeks. The theme of diversity in STEM was demonstrated in the undergraduate platform session, where students showed the diversity in research using Drosophila. There were a total of four undergraduate researchers from across the country presenting research on everything from gene regulation of histones to basolateral polarity and Bisphenol A’s role in neurodevelopment. All of these talks demonstrated the extreme breadth of research using Drosophila to study all sorts of mechanisms within biology and beyond. The second talk surrounding diversity was titled Managerial Engagement to Promote DEI in STEM by Mala Htun. This talk addressed the promotion of diversity in STEM, stating current procedures like harassment training are unproductive in promoting diversity and inclusion. Htun instead proposed three projects, including institutional change in faculty hiring processes, team projects focused around solving issues of DEI, and the creation of a curriculum designed to fight against microaggressions and sexual assault in STEM.