Neuroscience Conference 2013

Dr. Suen Ka Chun, Chung Ho Lim (5J), Ma Ho Him (4J), Chow Pak Chun (4J), Ho Poon Kiu (4V) and Abbass Gary (3S) were going to take the flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, CA, USA. Then, they would take Amtrak to San Diego where they would attend SfN Conference 2013.

In Los Angeles, one of the famous places is the Union Station. The team would then take Amtrak to San Diego at the Union Station.

At 7:00 p.m., the team of “young neuroscientists” arrived in Santa Fe Depot Station in San Diego, CA, USA. They would present their research findings on Nov 11, 2013 (Monday).

In the morning, Dr. Suen and five students visited the heart of San Diego.Below was the picture taken next to the United States Courthouse.

They then visited the USS Midway Museum.

In the afternoon, the team moved to the San Diego Convention Centre and attended the Presidential Special Lecture.The topic of this lecture was “The Mind of a Worm: Learning From the C. elegans Connectome”.The speaker was Professor Scott W. Emmons from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.C. elegans was the scientific name of a type of earthworms.

In the morning, Dr. Suen presented his poster. The topic of his educational research in teaching neuroscience was “A neuroscience pull-out gifted program in a high school in Hong Kong: Connection of neurodegenerative diseases and traditional Chinese medicine in research-based learning”.

The team of young neuroscientists helped Dr. Suen to set up the poster board.

Dr. Suen was ready for his presentation. He hoped to share his experience in organizing gifted education programs in neuroscience. Actually, Dr. Suen was the pioneer to initiate and establish pull-out neuroscience curriculum in Hong Kong.

The scientific research in our school was highly supported by Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. Dr. Chang (second left) came to visit Dr. Suen’s poster and gave encouragement to the young neuroscientists. Dr. Chang had also shared his philosophy in learning science and the importance of self confidence in careers with the five students.

Before the dinner with Dr. Chang and his research group, our students attended another Presidential Special Lecture. Its topic was “A Molecular Geneticist’s Approach to Understanding the Fly Brain”. The speaker was Professor Gerald M. Rubin from Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA. Do you know why scientists study the brain of fruit flies?

After dinner, the students had rehearsal for their poster presentation. They tried to think about some questions to be asked by other scientists. It was a good chance for the students to communicate with other scientists. Actually, attending conferences and presenting research findings are common practice in exchanging ideas in research, which can promote the advancement in scientific research.

The team of young neuroscientists was setting up their poster board and was ready for their presentation. The topic of their research was “Dendrobium huoshanense can reduce hydrogen peroxide-induced toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells”.

Some scientists showed interest to know more about the research done by the students.

At night, students shared what they had learnt in the conference. Most of them indicated that they were inspired to give presentation with logical flow of ideas so that audience can easily catch up with the ideas. Dr. Suen had positive comments on the performance of these five students because they had active responses to the questions raised by other scientists.

On the second last day of this conference trip, the team went to visit San Diego Zoo. One of the students in the team was very familiar with different types of animals. He became our tour guide in the zoo.

On the second last day of this conference trip, the team went to visit San Diego Zoo. One of the students in the team was very familiar with different types of animals. He became our tour guide in the zoo.