Second visit - Conference in Vegas!!

I arrived in Las Vegas on Monday 16th July to attend and present at the North American Forensic Entomology Society (NAFEA). It was my first visit to Las Vegas and was certainly a trip to remember!

Tuesday afternoon consisted of a workshop on statistics which was hard work but very useful and productive. The oral presentations took place on Wednesday and Thursday. There was a wide range of research being presented and it was amazing to network with such inspirational scientists. My talk on Wednesday seemed to go ok although, as always, I was a little nervous! I was therefore extremely shocked to have been awarded the top student presentation for the Percival Molecular Forensic Entomology prize! There was a kind donation of $300 which shall be saved so I can attend next years NAFEA conference.

The mixer on the Wednesday evening was a great chance to meet with all the attendees and the location of the Flamingo hotel (where the conference was held) was perfect for many great nights out that were had during the week!

We celebrated a former WC fellows birthday whilst we were there (Dr Andrew Hart) and I hope we gave him a birthday to remember! I owe Andrew so much, as if it wasn't for him promoting the trust so well, I never would have applied, and had this amazing opportunity.

A memorable conference where I was fortunate enough to meet some leading researchers in the ever expanding field of forensic entomology. I certainly hope to be a regular attendee of this annual conference. 

First stop, Texas A&M University...

I arrived in the US on 6th July to visit the wonderful assistant professor, Dr Tomberlin at Texas A&M University. I was not sure what to expect, as every member of staff who saw my final destination was College station asked, "why on earth are you going there?!?" My answer was simple, because there was an amazing entomologist based there! Dr Tomberlin has quickly become one of the most highly respected forensic entomologists in the field and has a large laboratory of extraordinary researchers. People from all around the world want to visit his FLIES facility, so I felt overwhelmingly honoured that I was able to visit  and get to known him and his research team a little better.

I landed at about 5:30pm having taken four flights on the way. Dr Tomberlin kindly met me at the airport and we dumped my bags and went for beers, which seemed to set the scene for the remainder of the week!

I was picked up very early the next morning (Saturday 7th July) where we had a two hour drive to collect samples in the field followed by a lovely swim in a river to cool off.  Sunday involved identifying the collected samples and going over my first case report with Dr Tomberlin (he clearly has never heard the phrase, "Sunday is the day of rest...")

The following week involved some hard hard work, including the collection of hydrocarbons (my PhD research area) from six different species which I shall analyse later in my trip at JEOL. I reviewed five case reports and really enjoyed seeing the dynamics of the lab in action. Dr Tomberlin's research group are the most inspiring group of people I have ever come across. They are extremely driven and ooze passion for their research. I enjoyed meeting other entomologists, including Dr Tarone -  someone who I certainly hope to correspond more with in the future!

The evenings consisted of socialising with the research group, including playing pool, bowling (both of which involved Dr Tomberlin losing!), cinema and some bad baking!

The group will be sorely missed as I truly felt at home and so welcomed by every single one of them.

The following link shows a small article of my visit on the FLIES facility website:

http://forensicentomology.tamu.edu/people/hannahmoore.html

Jennie Rhinesmith (undergraduate student at the FLIES facility), Dr Jeffrey Tomberlin and myself

Micah Flores (post graduate at the FLIES facility) and Jennie Rhinesmith

Myself and Dr Aaron Tarone