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28 August 2025
Summer of Science: Stowers Ph.D. Students Grow as Scholars and Scientists
Ph.D. students spent the summer advancing their science through conferences, courses, and collaborations.
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The Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
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Organized by Stowers Institute Investigators Matt Gibson, Ph.D., Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Robb Krumlauf, Ph.D., the conference facilitated a collaborative environment aimed at creative scientific exchange. More than 100 participants attended, including 20 distinguished speakers and trainees.
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research recently hosted its biannual Stowers Research Conferences (SRC) from October 23 to 25, 2024, bringing together an international group of leading scientists, researchers, and trainees. This meeting's theme, "Developmental Cell Biology," provided a platform for both lab leaders and early-career scientists to delve into cutting-edge developments, foster new collaborations, and inspire advancements within the field.
Organized by Stowers Institute Investigators Matt Gibson, Ph.D., Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Robb Krumlauf, Ph.D., the conference facilitated a collaborative environment aimed at creative scientific exchange. More than 100 participants attended, including 20 distinguished speakers and trainees.
Lab leaders, trainees, and conference organizers
One of the conference’s standout features continued to be the distinctive tandem presentation format, where Principal Investigators and their trainees present their research together. Berna Sozen, Ph.D., from Yale University, noted that it provided invaluable exposure for early-career researchers and offered a refreshing approach to scientific communication. "Science communication is a big part of our job," Sozen said. “It led to lots of great discussions on evolutionary biology. There could be some opportunities now to expand my collaborations, which is something really great."
Duygu Özpolat, Ph.D., from Washington University in St. Louis, also highlighted the conference's intimate size as a significant benefit for deep discussions and networking. "I think the diversity of organisms and research topics has been great, and the smaller size allows us to interact continuously," she shared.
First-time tandem presenter Joshua York, Ph.D., from Northwestern University said, “This format was both challenging and inspiring, as it required a collaborative approach that reinforced the team-driven nature of scientific research.”
"The tandem talks show that science is a team effort," added Monique Pedroza, a Yale University trainee. “I really appreciated the conference’s focus on mentorship and collaboration.”
"For me, from a European perspective, Stowers feels like a Max Planck Institute," said Jan Štundl, Ph.D., from Caltech. "It’s a beautiful place that motivates you to think out of the box."
Stowers Research Conferences will present its next event in Spring 2025 in conjunction with the OddPols conference. Learn more here.
News
28 August 2025
Ph.D. students spent the summer advancing their science through conferences, courses, and collaborations.
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22 August 2025
Educating the next generation of pioneering researchers
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In The News
19 August 2025
From Development, Stowers Graduate School alum Joaquín Navajas Acedo is now a Postdoc in the lab of Dr Alexander Schier in Biozentrum at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He is interested in how the nervous system evolves and develops at the single-cell level.
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