Our PhDs on the road: Zian Xue

PhD student Zian Xue (Pharmaceutical Sciences) attended the CRISPR Medicine Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. This conference was the first international gathering dedicated to the field of CRISPR.

Report

From 22nd to 25th of April, I attended the first CRISPR Medicine Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was looking forward to this big conference not only because it was the first international meeting of our field, but also because it would be quite inspiring to meet experts in the field after the first CRISPR therapy has been launched worldwide.

Before attending the conference, I was convinced that I already knew a lot about the CRISPR technology; if someone asked me questions about it, I would definitely be able to help. But as soon as I got there, I realised how ignorant I was that everyone there knew much more than I did. One experience that still sticks in my mind is when someone came to me full of expectation, just wanting to ask for suggestions about his project. Unfortunately, I was not able to understand anything, not even a single word. It was such a shock and a pity for me that I looked like a layman.

But it was worth it. Without such a conference I would probably never have realised the distance between me and others. After seeing so much wonderful work and listening to so many inspiring talks, I really should put my head down and then do some studying. I realised that the way I used to skip over anything in the reference papers that seemed unrelated to my project was isolating me from cutting-edge science.

“To be an expert in your field…” a future scientist is on his way.

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