13th Annual Atlantic Canada Cell and Developmental Biology Symposium
The 13th annual Atlantic Canada regional Cell and Developmental Biology symposium was held at Mount Saint Vincent University, co-organized by Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal and Dr. Angelo Iulianella. The symposium featured presentations from trainees at various career stages, from a senior high school student project to undergraduate honours students, to graduate students and research fellows. The day-long symposium was organized as three sessions of trainee talks from labs at the University of New Brunswick, the University of Price Edward Island, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Dalhousie University, representing our region well.
The first session involved student presentations on the role of matrix metalloproteinases and mechanical signalling in zebrafish, chicken embryonic scleral cartilage development, and nuclear import mechanisms and spindle protein function in Drosophila cells. The second session covered murine cortical neuron growth cone dynamics, and the impact of maternal diet on reward pathways and microglial morphology in rat brains. The last session dealt with the effects of antibiotics in fetal rat brain growth, optimizing magnetofection of zebrafish scales, and placode signalling in the chicken embryonic scleral system.
The short trainee talks were anchored by a keynote from Dr. Megan Dufton, Lab Director at Atlantic Fertility, on her career path. Her talk was entitled "Choose your path to master your craft". We were all inspired by her journey as an embryologist to chart an atypical career path. Dr. Dufton reminded us that as scientists, we are all life long learners, and that because it is our passion it doesn't feel like work. A life in science is both a privilege and challenge, and I firmly believe that it represents the best of us. I thank Dr. Dufton for reminding us of this.
We ended the symposium with discussion of the challenges to secure funding and keep this unique trainee-led symposium going in the foreseeable future. We are grateful for a one-time grant from the American Association for Anatomy, that has sustained the symposium over the last few years, allowing us to keep it free for all attendees and avoiding cost barriers to participate. We acknowledge organizational help from Eleanor Seaman-Bolton at the Brain Repair Centre of Dalhousie University and Mount Saint Vincent University for hosting us.
