This past week, Dr. Checo Colon-Gaud’s research lab and I were able to attend the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to share our research with the broader scientific community!
Scientific conferences are one of the best ways for scientists to connect with the larger research community to enhance and spread our research impact. JASM was certainly no exception, as it is the premier aquatic sciences conference in the world. In addition to seeing lots of fascinating talks in our field and great conversations with colleagues, I was able to share a poster presentation on the research efforts that we have been conducting on crayfish of the Ogeechee basin.
Lots of people walked by my poster and talked with me about their experiences working with crayfish and coastal plains organisms, and I certainly think I learned immensely from conversations with other scientists I interacted with. Certainly the most common comment on my research was related to how little we know about crayfish of the coastal plains.
Moving forward from this amazing experience, I hope to utilize the knowledge I gained as well as the connections I forged to help me tackle my research in the best way possible. This is not only done by using the best methods or researching the most important topic, but also by collaborating with a diverse group of scientists and the broader public to have the most prominent impact.
The next big aquatic sciences meeting is in Australia next summer, so we’re already looking forward to expanding our connections on a global scale!