Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to attend my first scientific conference, the annual meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society, more easily referred to as BMES, in San Antonio, TX. There, I was able to present a poster on my undergraduate research project from the summer, as well as sit in on several panel discussions and presentations to get a sneak peek at unpublished research from universities across the country. Most importantly, however, I was able to network directly with other undergraduate students and PhD candidates alike about their work and experience living in different cities, and if I was fortunate enough, I was able to talk to faculty research advisors, or principal investigators (PIs). This was all possible due to not only the support of my lab and research mentors, but also with support from the Student Travel Award for Research Scholarship (STARS) program organized by Dr. Bansal, which fully funded the travel expenses for me and a handful of other UD BME seniors pursuing graduate school.
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