Biophysical Society Bulletin | October 2025

Career Development

Why Is It Valuable to Bring Undergraduate Students to Conferences?

Many students begin post-secondary education with a clear sense of their academic path and future career op tions or trajectories. Others do not yet have a well-defined vision and are ac tively seeking more information about specific disciplines, techniques, or spe cialized topics—something that truly captures their interest and inspires them. Laboratory-based research

In my view, the impact on students’ careers and research plans has been significant, including in the following ways. • Poster sessions: Visits from field experts and the construc tive feedback students received motivated them to return to the lab energized and to design additional experiments. • Scientific programming: The inspiration sparked by key note talks, guest lectures, and trainee presentations was unmatched, helping students realize that they, too, can become future experts. • Role models and mentors: Several undergraduates told me they found a professional role model at a specific confer ence—often a pivotal moment in shaping their trajectory. • Institutional benefits: Conferences elevate trainees and their home institutions. Several of my students have earned competitive awards for oral and poster presenta tions, achievements that made me very proud and en hanced our institution’s reputation. For example, one of my undergraduate students received a poster presentation award at the 2022 Annual Meeting. • Pathways to graduate study: Many undergraduate stu dents identified their research passions and even connect ed with prospective graduate studies supervisors through conference participation. We all recognize how challenging it is to secure resources for trainee travel, especially for undergraduates. Fortunately, more opportunities are emerging to access travel scholarships and awards from scientific societies, including the Biophysical Soci ety (www.biophysics.org/2026meeting/awards-competitions/ travel-awards), as well as from post-secondary institutions. With some planning and mentorship, many students can take advantage of these options to attend conferences. In summary, conference attendance by undergraduate stu dents provides clear benefits: inspiration, professional net working, enhanced communication skills, and a stronger sense of scientific identity—while also elevating the profiles of institutions through trainee achievements. Most importantly, it helps nurture the next generation of researchers and innova tors. Whenever possible, we should support undergraduates in attending conferences and presenting their work. — Molly Cule

experiences serve both of these groups. Students discover what topics they enjoy researching, what techniques excite them, and, just as importantly, what topics or tasks they prefer to avoid. Learning what we don’t want to engage with is an often overlooked but valuable outcome of early training. Engaging in undergraduate research develops discipline-spe cific skills and a wide range of transferable professional and interpersonal competencies: troubleshooting, analytical and critical thinking, time and data management, teamwork, and independent work habits. While these abilities strongly support academic and professional growth, research dissem ination and networking skills are equally important—and conferences are among the best venues to cultivate them. Why Conference Attendance Matters—Especially for Undergraduates When undergraduates attend conferences, they see the breadth of possibilities before them. They have the rare opportunity to connect with accomplished researchers and experts, experience the pace and energy of scientific ex change, and begin to envision themselves as contributors to the field. Many students discover a passion for a particular discipline, technique, or research subset; identify a preferred post-secondary institution for further study; or even decide on a country where they would like to pursue graduate train ing. For students from institutions that are not research-in tensive—particularly those in rural or remote regions or in resource-challenged environments—conferences such as the BPS Annual Meeting can feel like once-in-a-lifetime opportu nities that open new doors for skills development and future opportunities. Firsthand Experience: Impact on Students and Institutions Although I work at a primarily undergraduate post-secondary institution, I have been fortunate to access resources that support many undergraduates in attending national and international conferences, including the 66th BPS Annual Meeting in 2022.

October 2025

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