TIPS AND TRICKS TO ENSURE A PRODUCTIVE AND PLEASANT CONFERENCE STAY

Some of you New Investigators have heard by now whether the Scientific Program committee has accepted
your work as a poster, or perhaps, even as an oral. Meanwhile, the conference date comes closer and the ISOQOL website is updating conference information on a regular basis. For some, this will be their first ISOQOL experience. For others, the conference has by now become about catching up with colleagues and friends from abroad. In any case, regardless of experience, attending an ISOQOL conference can be daunting, especially since the number of conference attendees is getting higher each year. Hence, we want to use this issue of Quality of Life Quarterly to provide some tips and tricks that could help you have a fruitful and pleasant stay at beautiful Berlin, Germany.

• Prepare your conference schedule carefully – look up the symposia and presentations you would like to attend, people you wish to meet, and workshops you want to follow.

• Get to know other new investigators – not only will you learn more about their research, but you may also learn more about the conference, its attendees, and which bars you need to visit.

• Come to the Tricks of the Trade symposium – Galina Velikova, MD, PhD, FRCP (current president of ISOQOL) and Carolyn Schwartz, PhD will share with you their road to success and will make time to answer some of your questions.

• Get yourself a mentor during the Mentor/Mentee reception – it is by far the easiest and most straightforward way of asking a senior researcher about your research, doing research, being a researcher, and getting the most out of your conference stay.

• When presenting a poster – don’t forget to bring handouts. In addition, make sure that everybody can clearly see who you are, where you are from, and how to contact you.

• Oral presentations are exciting. But they are never SO exciting that they need to become stressful to be successful. So enjoy it. And make sure those in the back can see and hear what you are talking about.

• Always wanted to meet that famed professor or that leading authority on your PhD subject? Go ahead and introduce yourself! Most of the time, these senior researchers are just as interested in you as you are in them.

• Make sure you get involved with a Special Interest Group (SIG) of your liking – chances are you will meet many new people, and these contacts often form longlasting collaborations or even friendships.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It is a great way of getting involved during the conference.

• Remember – conference attendees are here to learn about new research and meet new people, so do not hesitate to approach people.

• Last but not least – have fun!

We have a new co-chair!!! Say hello to Catherine Golics!

Hello New Investigators,

 

Thank you for electing me as your new co-chair for the ISOQOL New Investigators SIG. I am very much looking forward to my role and to working with Marc to continue the great work of the SIG so far.

 

A little bit about my background; I am from the UK and a pharmacist by training. I completed my PhD in 2013 which involved exploring and measuring the impact of illness on family members of patients. For the last two years I have been working as an Outcomes Researcher for ICON PRO (formerly Oxford Outcomes), a consultancy company.

 

I have attended four ISOQOL conferences over the past five years and have enjoyed being an active member of the New Investigator SIG, attending the academic and social events organised by the SIG and making some strong professional connections and friendships. At my first ISOQOL conference I travelled on my own and did not know anyone, so found that meeting a group of individuals at similar career stages to myself made the experience of my first conference a lot less intimidating and a lot more fun! During my time as co-chair I’d like to see a focus on first-time conference attendees and look forward to sharing my ideas around this at the upcoming ISOQOL conference in Berlin. In addition, I would like to develop the online blog to make it more interactive and easier for SIG members to keep in touch throughout the year. I have already begun to discuss the exciting upcoming events planned for the SIG with Marc and Katerina (who I will replace as co-chair in October) and encourage you to get in touch with any additional ideas of your own.

 

I look forward to meeting those of you who I have not yet met at the annual conference in Berlin.

 

Best wishes

 

Catherine