How does the dromedary camel survive without drinking? Transcriptomes and proteomes of the kidney
Fernando Alvira-Iraizoz, University of Bristol
Aims
The aim for this Standard Grant application is to obtain sufficient funding to cover the attendance to the Society of Experimental Biology conference (SEB ANTWERP 2021); including travel costs, accommodation, subsistence and registration fee. This scientific, in-person meeting will take place from 29th June to 2nd July 2021, in Antwerp (Belgium).
The conference will hold sessions dedicated to Animal Biology and Bioinformatics. Specifically, I would actively participate in the following: “Physiological and behavioural responses to temperature fluctuation”, “Osmotic and acid/base regulation at the thermal extremes”, “Metabolism, membrane transport and acid-base physiology in aquatic invertebrates: Towards a mechanistic understanding underlying life in changing an extreme environments”, “Endocrine control of physiological and behavioural responses to environmental change”, “The physiology behind phenotypic plasticity in rapidly changing environments”, “Technology enabled approaches to ecophysiology”.
They are intended to discuss topics that are directly relevant to my ongoing research, from adaptations to extreme environments to the use of omics approaches. Thus, I will present my latest investigations in an oral presentation.
Networking will also be key given that my research topic is underrepresented in the scientific community and, therefore, in-person meetings are essential to establish collaborations with other researchers/institutions.
Evaluation
Firstly, for an early career scientist, it is essential to present results in international scientific meeting to gain experience, recognition and visibility. That is the main outcome, which was very positive since the presentation went well.
Secondly, the meeting was well chosen. The main themes of the conference were well related to my own project as well as to the scope of the group. The field of camel physiology is rather tight so presenting in international conferences with a broader range of themes is key. At the same time, I could also attend talks from different topics which I always helpful to learn other approaches.
Lastly, it was interesting to listen the Lectures from well stablished scientists and panels to get an overall view of the themes included in the meeting.
On the other side, the number of attendees was not as high as expected and only a few people attended my talk. Perhaps too many overlapping sessions did not help with that. The other negative, although unavoidable, aspect was the fact that the meeting went virtual, thus making networking difficult.
Grant awarded: £1,460.00