Attending the Society for Neuroscience Meeting Contents

• Before– setting goals

– preparing for the meeting

• During– participating

– networking

• After– follow up

• Preventing MeetingTrauma Syndrome

• Attending SmallConferences

• Preparing Posters

What is there at the SFN Meeting?

• Lectures

• Symposia

• Workshops

• Satellites

• Scientific sessions

• Poster sessions

• Exhibits

• Job placement services

• Special interest socials and receptions

Set Goals for the Meeting

• Learn about scientific developments in yourarea of research:

– Lectures: plenary, special, featured)

– Symposia (several speakers, research focus)

– Workshops (methodology-based)

– Satellites (before/after the SfN Meeting)

– Scientific sessions - slide presentations (10 min.)

– Poster sessions

Set Goals for the Meeting

• Exhibits

• Publishing companies (books, journals)

• Pharmaceutical companies

• Instrumentation companies

• Scientific suppliers (reagents, animals)

• Computer hardware and software programs

• Non-profit agencies, foundations, andinstitutions

• Good for window shopping and promotions

Set Goals for the Meeting

• Learn about employment opportunities

– placement services

• job postings

• resume/CV files

• interviews

– bulletin boards

Set Goals for the Meeting• Learn about funding opportunities

– meet program officers from

federal agencies (NIH, NSF)

- meet officers from private foundations

and professional associations

- find out what is available

– ask for advice

Goal #1: Networking

• Enlarge your network of contacts

– social events and receptions

– scientific sessions

– meals

– shuttle bus

– hotel lobby

– waiting lines

– everywhere!

Preparing for the Meeting• Preparation is the key for a successful

experience.

– Advance registration: Cheaper; provides meetingprogram, abstracts, and list of participants

– Travel arrangements: Flights and hotel rooms fillquickly. Consider safety, distance when booking.Reduce costs by sharing hotel room

– Networking: Prepare a list of the people you wantto meet, and contact them prior to the meeting,explain interest and ask to meet (preferable atposter session or social gathering, not in hall)

Preparing for the Meeting

• Review program and read abstracts:

– Give yourself time (2-3 weeks in

advance)

– Search online by keywords

– Consult with labmates to divide work

– If different events of interest are

slated concurrently, set priorities

Preparing for the Meeting

• Plan your schedule in advance:

– choose 5-10 posters per session

– listen only to relevant oral presentations

– schedule time for relaxation and

socialization

– allow transition time

– be very selective…it can be very

exhausting

Participating in the Meeting

• Follow the schedule you prepared in advance

• Have a 100% positive attitude

• Bring a notebook to write notes

– Taking notes helps focus, records for future

reference, and promotes retention

– Write the date, talk’s name, author

– Add your own ideas and questions

Participating in the Meeting

• Ask questions: It shows that you are

bright and interested. Be brief and to the

point.

• Prepare a 2-min. answer for typical

questions, such as “What do you do?”

• Dress professionally and comfortably

(comfy shoes!)

• Make the effort to network

Make the Effort to Network

• Avoid spending too much time with lab-mates

• Follow-up with the people you contacted

• Take the initiative to meet new people

• If possible, get introduced

• Establish a connection

• Offer your business card for follow-uppurposes

Hint: 75% of professional jobs are obtainedthrough networking

Set a networking goal:

Minimum: 3 persons per day

1 2 3

Post-meeting Follow-up

• Deliver what you promised

• Send thank-you notes

• Keep in touch with new

contacts

• Look for other opportunities

to present your poster or to

give an oral presentation

Post-meeting Follow-up

•Analyze what worked for

you and what didn’t. Write it

for future reference.

• For reimbursement

purposes, keep receipts

organized: transportation,

hotel, meals, registration fee

Prevent Meeting Trauma Syndrome(MTS)

Danger: Untreated MTS can progress into

Meeting Aversion Syndrome (MAS)

Prevention of MTS

(Meeting Trauma Syndrome)

• Set realistic goals

– define your priorities: first things first

– do more if time and energy permit

• Behave in a safe manner

– stay in public view

– trust your instincts

Prevention of MTS

• Take care of yourself

– use comfortable shoes

– eat regularly and drink plenty of water

– rest and exercise

– stay in touch with home: call,

send a postcard

- Do sightseeing

Enjoy yourself!

"I have sworn upon the altar of

God, eternal hostility against

every form of tyranny over the

mind of man.” T. Jefferson

Albert Einstein Memorial

National Academy of Sciences

Attending Smaller Conferences

• Gordon Research

Conferences

– 120-150 maximum

attendees

• FASEB Summer

Research Conferences

– 175 attendees

• Keystone Symposia

– 250 attendees

Advantages of Small Conferences

• Intensive, numerous high quality talks on a focusedarea

• No concurrent sessions

• High level of interaction with– Other students

– Postdocs

– Faculty

• Feedback on your project at highly attended postersessions/often poster is required for application

• Social/free time for increasing interactions

• Informal

Make a Good Poster

and Practice Presenting It!

Make a Good Poster

• Find out what are the poster guidelines

• See other people’s posters to get ideas

• Make your poster simple, attractive and large. Itwill be read at a distance of about 3 feet by tiredpeople

• Information should flow vertically, from left to right

• Avoid the three most common mistakes:– too much text, too much, too much

– too little space (are you writing too much?)– using a font size that is too small (you are writing too much!)

Making a Good Poster

• Use Power Point slide as template:

– Under “File”, choose “Page Setup,”“Landscape.

– Height: 34 inches high x 53 inches wide1

• Text boxes: Choose “Insert” then “Text Box”

– Font size: 120 for title, 48 for subtitles, 24for text

– Best fonts: Arial, Helvetica, Avantgarde

• Save it as picture - TIF file – to avoidtruncation

Making a Good Poster

• Include 3-4 images that are easy to

understand, and if possible, colorful.

• Images: In Photoshop, Sigmaplot or

Illustrator, save images as TIF or JPEG files,

ideally 300 dots per inch (dpi).

• Go to “Insert,” “Picture,” “From File”, find

image, insert TIF. Right click on picture, and

choose “Format Picture” to size and crop it.

Printing a Good Poster

• Open PowerPoint file, select “Print” (makesure scale to fit paper is not selected). Selectprinter name.

• Click Properties. Under “Layout: Orientation”,choose landscape.

• Click Advanced button. Under Paper Size,select 36 x 60.

• Under Print Quality, select Normal. Click OK.

• Print your poster early to avoid last minutedelays and to practice

Make a Good Poster

• Acknowledge grant support at the bottom andinclude your assigned session number at thetop.

• Graphs are easier to understand andpreferred over tables

• Practice “walking people through your poster”in 3 minutes

• Make your poster portable, easily rolled into atube and ready to be displayed

Tips for a Good Poster Session

• Don’t leave home without it

• Never check your poster as luggage

• Other suggested items to bring with you:

– thumbtacks, tape, correction fluid

– extra data or figures that do not fit in the

poster

– a miniature version of your poster

– business cards, water, comfortable shoes

Tips for Good Posters

• http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/p

osteradvice.htm

Acknowledgments

Erika Lima, Ph.D.

Department of

Psychology

University of Texas at

Austin

lima@mail.utexas.edu

Dr. Douglas Barrett

Department of

Psychology

University of Texas at

Austin, TX

For “Making and Printing

Poster” information

Beth A. Fischer

Michael J. Zigmond

University of Pittsburgh

412-624-7098

survival@pitt.edu

www.pitt.edu/~survival

These materials were developed

with funds from the NIMH,

NINDS, NSF and the

University of Pittsburgh

Presentation based on materials from

The Survival Skills and Ethics Program