The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting is a massive, international conference with over 20,000 people at the 2023 meeting. I was one of the 20,000. In April, I received a Research Presentation Grant from the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research to present my honors thesis: Targeting STAT3 in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using GSK3beta and Integrin Inhibitors, at AACR. The meeting is a series of talks and poster presentations over five days; however, AACR also holds an Undergraduate Student Caucus and Poster Competition. I submitted my abstract for this event and was selected to present my research.
This year’s meeting was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The entire center is 7 million square feet and there were other conferences happening in other parts of the building at the same time. It was overwhelming on the first day, especially since this was my first conference outside of UNH. The Undergraduate Caucus was held a day before the official start of the meeting and about 100 students from across the country attended. Over eight rounds of judging, I presented my work to many different cancer scientists. We discussed my future plans for the project and what they have been studying. One of my judges had recently defended her PhD dissertation on triple negative breast cancer, my area of research, so it was cool to hear about what aspect of the disease she focused on and why!
Although the poster session was the main event of the Undergraduate Caucus, there was also a panel of AACR members, each with different degrees, career paths, and research interests. We had the opportunity to talk to an MD/PhD student, a Master of Public Health, and PhDs in both academia and industry who were able to give advice on the many different paths within the field of cancer research. I was also able to meet other undergraduate students, doing research similar to my own, and hear about their findings and what they plan to do next in their career. Everyone there had the same ultimate goal: to be a cancer scientist, but the definition of that role means something different to each individual. Some would be applying for graduate school to continue in research while others would be applying for medical school. Some were even planning to pursue public health and have a career in policy making. Everyone at the conference had their own unique background and unique future, but for 5 days we were all in the same place with the same goal of learning more about recent advancements and how our personal interests and goals will play a role in the global fight against cancer.
Participating in a conference with over 20,000 attendees as an undergraduate is overwhelming. However, there are plenty of opportunities for undergrads to learn and benefit from the many programs available at large meetings, just like the AACR Undergraduate Student Caucus and Poster Competition. Attending conferences early on is a great steppingstone into the world of networking and science communication, both of which are essential for a career in research, no matter what your path may look like.
