As a biomedical engineer by training, I came to Biophysics expecting to have a cursory understanding of most of the subject matter being presented and to ultimately be lost in a lot of technical jargon. I was floored at how digestable the majority of the symposia talks were from PIs, postdocs, and students alike. Everything from systems biology, to molecular dynamic modelling of ion channels and lipid bilayers, I found a lot of the information to be remarkably digestable, which was a refreshing change of pace coming from a technically-focused background. 

The diversity of topics presented at this conference was wide ranging, scientifically. Even the range of topics day-to-day had seemingly little technical overlap with the subject matter of other symposia throughout the conference, making it easy to see the talks I wanted to see. Personally, I was interested in hearing talks on optical imaging, neuroscience, and lipid membrane physical chemistry. It felt like most of these talks were spread out across different days, with surprising little compromise needing to be made.

The quality of the work presented at poster sessions was facinating. Not only did I get great feedback on my own work, but I was able to learn so much from other presenters by diving into details that are difficult to cover in platorm talks. Connecting with familiar faces from Twitter was also a nice addition. And while there were too many posters to fully see each day, the layout was consistent and easy to navigate between days. 

I was really impressed with the emphasis placed on career development by the conference organizers. There were multiple daily talks discussing topics including how to network and market yourself as a scientist, developing CVs and written applications for job talks, planning postdocs and career trajectories, and science communications. Of the workshops I had the chance to attend, I took away tactical advice that were almost immediately applicable. 

The biggest point that I feel like separates Biophysics from most of the engineering-focused conferences that I would typically attend is the focus on scientific discovery, whether the outcomes of research are clearly and immediately tangible or not. It was a refreshing take to be immersed in such a community. I am realy glad I made the trip to Biophysics, and I have every intention to return regularly throughout my scientific career. I owe a special to the Biophysical Society for making my trip possible with a travel award. Looking forward to San Diego in 2020.