• Miriam was one of 25 students selected to give a Lightning Talk
• Miriam was awarded 'honorable mention' for best poster

Miriam reports:

I feel fortunate to have attended the 22nd National Congress of Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology which took place in Merida, Yucatan. For the first time, the American Society of Plant Biologists joined in on this meeting to promote and strengthen research collaborations between Mexico and the US. This goal resonated with me deeply and I knew I couldn’t miss this conference. (Being in a warm tropical climate had nothing to do with my attendance.).

The four days were packed with plenary talks by researchers from Cornell, Stanford, University of Michigan, including familiar names that have held PB program seminars. The topics were quite diverse, and there were definitely sessions/talks for every discipline. A striking difference about research in Mexico, is the prominence of working directly with crop plants, not model systems. Much of the genetic and breeding work is done on maize, wheat, common bean, rice, etc., and some uncommon work that stood out to me was focused on improving the cultivation of agave and date palm in Mexico.

I was selected to give a lightning talk, a short oral presentation geared toward garnering interest in my poster, to this end, I was pleasantly surprised to get an ‘honorable mention’ for best poster. Overall, it was a privilege to connect with new students and professors whose passion for research and genuine kindness was unmatched, and I was grateful for the chance to reconnect with old friends and familiar faces. As if that wasn’t enough, it was a treat to see professors that we’ve invited to give seminars at UMass. Amherst, and dance Salsa at the social events (I won’t name any names).

Merida is a very special place, and for those interested in visiting Yucatan, I have a very long list of activities to do, including visiting Mayan ruins and thriving Mayan villages, eating way more conchinita pibil and poc chuc than I could handle, and birding, (yes, birding). Even those with no Spanish speaking ability, whatsoever, will have no problem attending this conference and I guarantee it will be like no other (and it happens every two years!)