(held in Washington DC, U.S.A.)
Our Neuroscience Club students did a research about sleep and memory. This research abstract was accepted by SfN in June, 2008. On November 14-21, 2008, Dr. Ka-Chun Suen and five of our students who were Yuen Chun Ting (3S), Wong Yat Hei (3N), Lam Ho Cheung (3M), Lo Chun Yin Bernard (3J) and Li Lok Man (3V) went to Hall A-C, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, U.S.A. to present their research findings. The details of this research can be found in the [research abstract] and [presentation poster].
Day 1 (Nov 14, 2008)
With the support from parents, our team had a good start from the International Airport of Hong Kong. (6:30 am)
We had a flight transit in Detroit-Wayne Country International Airport to Washington DC. (2:00 pm)
We had arrived in Washington DC! We then took Metro to go to our hotel. We needed a good rest! (8:30 pm)
Day 2 (Nov 15, 2008)
This was our second day in Washington DC. We were moving from our hotel located near Waterfront-SEU Metro Station to Walter E. Washington Convention Center. (10:45 am)
We enjoyed our first lunch in DC. (12:30 pm)
We were going to join the 38th Annual Meeting of the SfN in Walter E. Washington Convention Center. (1:15 pm)
Our students were studying “Today’s Schedule” to look for interesting topics of poster presentations and special lectures. (1:30 pm)
Our students were going to attend Presidential Special Lecture. Its topic was “What Songbirds Can Teach Us About Learning and the Brain”. The speaker was Professor Allison J. Doupe, M.D., Ph.D. (5:15 pm - 6:15 pm).
Day 3 (Nov 16, 2008)
Our students attended Fred Kavli Distinguished International Scientist Lecture. Its topic was “Anatomy and the Problem of Behavior”. The speaker was Professor Michael Bate, Ph.D. from University of Cambridge. (10:00 am – 11:00 am)
After lunch, Dr. Suen started his poster presentation. He was explaining why cell culture was a useful tool to help students learn cell biology. Dr. Suen’s presentation topic was “Brain cell culture is an effective learning activity for high school students to acquire diverse knowledge and skills about neuroscience”[abstract] and [poster]. (1:00 pm)
Ms. Melanie Fields (first right) and her students from Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC were interested in our poster. Ms. Fields was a biology teacher. She encouraged her high school students to learn science through research-based learning. She indicated that her school would be very pleased to collaborate with us. (1:30 pm)
We were happy to meet Dr. Raymond C.C. Chang (third right) in the conference. He is one of our school advisors. He showed his great support to our students. The background of this photo is Dr. Suen’s poster. (2:30 pm)
Dr. Suen (left) and Dr. Chang (right) were discussing the direction of future research projects. (2:45 pm)
After the poster presentation session, four of our students joined an interactive demonstration about the measurement of brain electroencephalograph (EEG). Their heads were connected with some wires for the measurement. They then started a competition. They needed to be the most relaxed person. (4:20 pm)
Day 4 (Nov 17, 2008)
To prepare the presentation on November 18 (Wednesday), our students were doing the final rehearsal. Dr. Suen (second left) was giving advice to Yuen Chun Ting (first right). (9:30 am)
The background of this photo is Smithsonian Castle which is the information center of a series of The Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC. This morning, we visited National Museum of African Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and National Air and Space Museum. (10:30 am – 3:45 pm)
In National Air and Space Museum, Wong Yat Hei (lower left) used Magdeburg hemispheres to demonstrate how air pressure was so great. (3:40 pm)
At 4:00 pm, we reached United States Capitol serving as the seat of government for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government.
Our students were going to attend Presidential Special Lecture. Its topic was “Sleep: Studying a Human Behavior in an Insect” in Hall D, Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The speaker was Professor Leslie C. Griffith, M.D., Ph.D. (5:15 pm – 6:15 pm)
Day 5 (Nov 18, 2008)
This morning, our students presented their research findings in an international conference of neuroscience. They learnt a lot from many neuroscientists. The topic of the poster presentation was “Immediate night-time sleep helps memory consolidation in adolescents aged 13-14”. (8:30 am – 12:15 pm)
In the afternoon, we went to National Zoological Park located near Woodley-Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro Station. Tai Shan, a giant panda can be found in this zoo. (1:45 pm – 4:45 pm)
Day 6 (Nov 19, 2008)
We spent our last day to visit National Archives (upper left), White House (middle left), National Museum of Natural History (lower left), Washington Monument (right), Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and The Pentagon. (9:45 am – 5:00 pm.)
Day 7 (Nov 20, 2008)
As we had completed all of our tasks in Washington DC, in this morning, we took a flight from Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) to Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) at 7:29 am. We then took a transit flight in Tokyo. Our final destination was Hong Kong.
Day 8 (Nov 21, 2008)
After nearly 24 hours, we arrived in Hong Kong at 9:40 pm, indicating the end of our conference trip 2008
