Insights from our Second Annual Targeted Protein Degradation Symposium

In the opening remarks of our second annual Targeted Protein Degradation Symposium, Tom Livelli, VP of Life Sciences Products & Services at Promega, posed a question to the attendees: “What do you want to be able to do today that you can’t?” This aspirational question set the tone for an event where building connections to advance the study and application of proximity-induced degradation took center stage.

More than 90 attendees from academia and industry gathered September 20–21 for the two-day symposium, which was hosted in our inspirational Kornberg Center—the R&D heart of Promega. Through engaging talks, a poster session, “Learn n’ Burn” challenges and social gatherings, participants had the opportunity to reinforce existing collaborations and to connect with others who are making an impact in the field of targeted protein degradation.

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Tips for Attendees: Making the Most of a Virtual Conference

Today’s blog was written by guest bloggers Tara Luther, Marketing Specialist Genetic Identity, and Allison Suchon, Manager of Tradeshows and Events at Promega.

2020 has been a year of changes for all of us. We’ve learned how to keep in touch while physically distancing. We’ve learned how to work from home with furry coworkers who encourage us to break from the traditional 9–5 routine. We’ve learned how to make changes to our labs to stay safe and productive.

For many of us, this will also be the first time that we attend a virtual conference. While it’s easy to focus on what we’ll be missing by not gathering together, there are advantages to moving to the virtual space. By making the most out of your virtual experience, you’ll be able to walk away with valuable insights, a robust network, and insights that you can use in your own lab.

To help, we’ve put together a list of tips that will help you maximize your experience at any virtual conferences you attend.

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Optimizing Your Scientific Conference Experience

When I was in graduate school (a really long time ago), I remember going to my first big conference—American Society for Cell Biology—and being completely overwhelmed. I walked in with my Annual Conference Proceedings (back then it was all paper—no apps—and those books were thick, heavy and took up a ridiculous amount of space in your luggage). I had highlighted at least 100 posters that I was going to visit, along with one talk at every session that remotely applied to my work. And of course, I was not going to miss a single platform presentation. I was grimly determined to learn everything.

After a day-and-a-half, I was too tired to even troll the exhibition floor for freebies.

In my current job, I spend time monitoring hashtags for scientific conferences, and I occasionally notice a plaintive tweet from a conference attendee awash in a sea of posters and platform presentations—wondering where to start or where to stop.

So I asked our scientists at Promega what their tips are for getting the most out of a conference. Here are our Conference ProTips:

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