Melissa Gammons
University of Bristol, UK

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.91.16

13 April 2013, Warwick University, UK

The recent Early Career Investigators Symposium on ‘Advances in Microcirculation’, initiated by the British Microcirculation Society, was host to numerous outstanding talks and scientific discussions showing that there is an exciting future for microcirculation research in the UK.

The symposium covered topics ranging from angiogenesis to inflammation and vessel permeability, investigating physiological and pathological aspects of the functioning microvessels. We were overwhelmed by the mature and confident selected oral communications given by early career investigators ranging from first year PhD students to young post-docs. Not only were the talks well paced and informative, the scientific questions that followed demonstrated a clear understanding and thirst for knowledge in a seemingly relaxed atmosphere. This was also evident in the poster session where discussions continued and collaborations began to form. The high standard made prize selection a difficult process.

Registration costs were kept to a minimum by generous support from the British Heart Foundation, the British Pharmacological Society, the Company of Biologists, the Physiological Society, and the Richard Bright VEGF Research Trust, complementing core support by the British Microcirculation Society and the exhibitors (Moor Instruments and PromoCell). Kenton Arkill, an attendee from University of Birmingham said: “I thought it was the best value conference I’d ever been to. The science was as good as the full BMS; however it was more friendly, constructive and encouraging for the future of vascular biology. It works because the speakers are not the people supervising the science, but the people doing it!’

Thanks to the level of charitable and society support, we were not only able to keep registration costs low, but also able to offer numerous travel grants and prizes. In total 18 travel grants were awarded to the 46 young investigators that attended, including two international travel grants to attendees for Moscow and Germany. Furthermore, seven prizes were awarded throughout the day. Patricia Kelly, University of Ulster, won the ‘Best Abstract’ prize. Patricia said: ‘I absolutely loved attending the BMS Early Career Symposium! As a direct result of my oral presentation, I now aspire to present at an International conference. I was excited to receive an award for ‘Best Submitted Abstract’. It has really boosted my confidence as an early researcher! I sincerely hope the BMS Early Career Symposium can continue as it is a necessary platform for young scientists to present their work, discuss ideas and receive critical review of their research.’

As an organiser of the event it was a pleasure to hear of the expansive and diverse microvasculature research currently taking place in the UK. In a post symposium poll, 100% of attendees who took part said there was a need for more young investigator events like this one and that it was beneficial to them as researchers. We hope events like this one will continue to be supported in the future and will expand to benefit more early career researchers.