Presentations and Conferences

Learning how to talk about your research—both to experts and to broader audiences—is an important part of beginning your journey in academia. Presentations help you organize your thoughts, get feedback, and build confidence. Conferences are also a great way to meet people, explore new ideas, and feel part of the wider research community.
You’ll also build skills to do better each time—learning how to explain your work more clearly, handle questions, and tailor your message to different audiences.
They’re also a valuable opportunity to build connections for your future. Many students meet potential collaborators, postdoc advisors, or even future employers through conference interactions. Being present, sharing your work, and asking questions can lead to conversations that open doors later on.
Preparing for a conference often brings unexpected benefits. It pushes you to organize your results, think more clearly about your message, and better understand your own work. Having a deadline also helps with motivation—it gives you something concrete to work toward.

I expect you to present your work at least once a year at a conference, even if it’s a work in progress. It doesn’t have to be perfect—sharing where you're at is already valuable.

- We’ll choose conferences that best fit your research. Some options include the International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB), the Canadian and European Biophysics Congresses, the Protein Society Annual Symposium, or others.
- If there’s a specific conference you're excited about, come talk to me. I’m happy to hear your ideas and explore what makes the most sense for your work.
- Conference abstracts are usually due months in advance, often before your work is finished. That’s completely normal. We’ll submit based on where we expect the project to be by the time of the event.
- I’ll help you prepare abstracts, posters, and talks—and we’ll also apply for travel funding, either through my grants or external sources.
- The goal of presenting isn’t to be flawless—it’s to share your ideas, build your confidence, and improve with each experience.
- If you’re nervous about presenting, that’s completely okay. It’s a skill, and we’ll work on it together.
As a final note:
If you’re nervous about public speaking, you're definitely not alone. It’s extremely common in academia to feel like you're “just not good at it” or to doubt yourself. This is often part of what’s called impostor syndrome—the feeling that you don’t really belong, that you're not as capable as others think, or that you're somehow faking it and will be “found out.” These thoughts are incredibly common, but they don’t reflect your actual ability.

Feeling anxious doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do. One of the best speakers I’ve ever seen, a well-known advisor who was famous for his clear and engaging talks, once told me that he still felt nervous every single time before presenting, no matter how often he had done it or who the audience was. That really stayed with me. Even the most experienced charismatic scientists feel this way.