What to expect from SfE BES as an Early Career researcher / medical trainee

Scientific conferences are not just an unparalleled opportunity to dive deeper into what’s going on in your specialty. Much more importantly, they are where the little things – the random encounters, the unexpected conversations that can lead to career turning points happen. Do you remember, or can you imagine, the nervous expectation, the excitement -perhaps a tinge of bewilderment- of being there for the first time?

Matthew Sinton, PhD student in Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh attended his first ever scientific conference, SfE BES, in November 2017. Read how the experience saw him equipped with a sense of purpose, and a taster of what the endocrinology community can do for his career (and could do for yours too, if you’re an SfE BES newbie!).

Amongst the multitude of questions whirling around in my head when I started my PhD, there was one I never realised would be so important: which societies should I join? The first one recommended by my supervisor was the Society for Endocrinology, so I did my due diligence – I found out what the role of the Society was, and how it could support me throughout my PhD and my career beyond.

One of the first opportunities that I came across was the Society for Endocrinology BES Registration Grant, which is available to trainee scientists, as well as others trainees and students, and covers the cost of conference registration. The aim of the grant is to enable those who are still choosing their career paths, or are new to the field of endocrinology, to attend and hear the latest basic and clinical research in the field, and to network with both peers and experts. A few weeks after a straightforward, painless application process, I received an email confirming my award of the grant. While I was delighted about it, I also felt a little nervous – this was my first ever conference but I wasn’t presenting anything, and although I knew a few people who were also attending, they would be busy with poster presentations and meetings. How could I make use of all that spare time to wander around by myself?

As I made my way, on the train from Edinburgh to Harrogate (where the conference was being held), still feeling somewhat apprehensive, I read the conference programme again, and got my notebook out so that I could make a list of things that I would like to see. As I put this list together, a feeling of excitement overtook my nerves – there were such a range of different topics, including engaging with the media, cancer metabolism, food taxation, and alternative career paths. Thinking about opportunities for people at my same career stage, I also made a note to check out the Early Career Lounge.

Once in Harrogate, and too early to check into my hotel, I headed straight to the convention centre. I quickly registered and made my way to the main exhibition hall to see all the posters and exhibition stands. It was still very quiet, so I joined the coffee queue, with the intention of enjoying my caffeine kick whilst looking at the posters in more detail. To my surprise, however, a collaborator who I had not yet had the opportunity to meet in person, joined the queue behind me, and we got chatting. This chance encounter made me feel far more at ease, and afterwards I took the time to wander around. I stopped to check the posters I thought I would be most interested in, then headed to my first talk of choice, on engaging with the media, by Giles Yeo. Like most of the talks that I attended during the conference, it was insightful and engaging, and I really enjoyed being able to listen to experts in their respective fields discussing science and endocrinology from so many different perspectives.

The first evening of the conference I went to the Early Career Quiz, where I had been assigned a seat with people from my home institute, including other postgraduates and PIs. Although I’d seen the other postgraduates around the university, I’d never had the chance to talk to them, so this was a brilliant opportunity to get to know each other better and find out about the projects that everyone was working on. To our (brief) dismay, we didn’t do that well in the quiz, finishing slap-bang in the middle, but it didn’t matter – the evening was so much fun! That night I went back to my hotel feeling exhausted, but still managed to spare some energy to plan my next day.

The following morning, after a quick breakfast and a coffee, I walked back to the convention centre and went straight to the Early Career Lounge, to find out more about the Society and what was on offer in terms of career development. Whilst I want to stay in academia after I finish my PhD, I’m realistic enough to know how competitive it is, and that I need to develop additional skills away from the bench. At the Lounge I spoke with Matt Grant, the Society Careers and Engagement Officer. We chatted for quite a while, about opportunities within the Society, and about what I thought the Society could do to further support people at my career stage. At the end of our chat, I was feeling excited about the various events that I could attend, and Matt promised to email me with any opportunities that arose (which he did). The icing on the cake was, of course, the free Society for Endocrinology mug that I got after our chat…!

I would encourage anyone to apply for the Society for Endocrinology BES Registration Grant and attend this conference, as it really is a fantastic experience. I learned about areas of science that I would otherwise have missed, and met people that I would not normally have the opportunity to meet, including those from the institute that I’m based at! I’m really looking forward to staying involved with the Society, throughout my PhD and beyond!

Do you want to know more about Matthew’s unusual career path? Read how quitting his first PhD led him to refocus his career on endocrinology here.