The ARVO 2019 annual meeting has just finished, and I would like to put my thoughts down now that they are fresh.
#From Bench to Bedside and Back was the slogan for this year and that was precisely what it was about. It was exhilarating to see all the scientists, researchers and clinicians of all levels, coming together, eager to share their work, their struggles and successes, and their vision for the future.
For a -not exactly young- scientist like me it is tremendously helpful to attend conferences of that scale. I work on a quite niche subject, so I wasn’t expecting to find talks that were directly related (I did, however). It gave me an insight though on how other groups plan their work and design their projects. The methods they used to tackle any problems and difficulties that might arise. And the methodology they use to test their hypotheses.
Nice place for a conference
My primary purpose of attending ARVO 2019 was to present some of the data I have gathered during my PhD and hopefully get some insight on how to proceed further. I think though that I gained much more. Seeing the tremendous work that takes place to advance science just a little bit further, the number of people actively involved makes you realise what a big community this is. A community with one purpose, the welfare of patients. A community that I am a part of. That drives me even more to push the boundaries and gain just a little bit of knowledge. My little contribution, that will ultimately be a part of our understanding about eye vision, disease and therapy.
I’d really like to thank Fight for Sight and the Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness for the opportunity to attend this amazing meeting,
One point of criticism to ARVO 2019. If you plan to hand out thousands of bags, then make sure they have something in them at least (apart from just advertisement brochures and leaflets). Pen and paper would be good. Not all of us have an expensive tablet or notebook to take notes.
The app was fantastic though.
Vancouver straight away gives you the impression of a spotless, eco-friendly city. And beautiful. Of course, there are parts of the city where they hide those that don’t “fit” from the general front picture they want to present but don’t we all do the same thing to some extent? Their bins are separated into three sections, organics, plastics and landfills. You don’t need to ban plastic straws, just make them redundant. Use biodegradable materials as Canadian’s use for their plastic cups (feels and looks the same). Just don’t touch their cars. Each one of those probably has the CO2 emissions of a small factory, but hey, you can’t have everything. They care about the sea and the land. Someone else should look after the air!
By the way, they probably have the most bad-ass looking police cars. Not exactly what you would call highly visible and identifiable (which beats the point if you are not undercover) but I don’t mind.
-Thanos
Incentive to become a cop?
Thanos is supported by a PhD studentship from Fight For Sight. If you can spare any money consider donating to them and help support the search for new, better treatments for man eye diseases. Find out more here
LaNts and Laminins 