My Poster Session

Today I participated in a poster exhibit at NIH and very proudly displayed my not-so-successful-thus-far research project, only one of among hundreds of very nerdy, very earnest research here. I can say unequivocally that my poster carried the distinction of being the simplest, most childish looking poster there, with its large fonts and even larger pictures. I took a quick walk around and every single poster had no less than 5-6 complex, color-coded diagrams, fluorescently dyed cells and iridescent scientific imaging. Everything was so high-tech and sophisticated that my poster was very much the shabby cousin amongst its rich and flamboyant relatives.

Much like my amusing speed dating experience a while back where I had the dubious fortune of sitting next to this buxom, vibrant Australian redhead and thus had to endure the veritable traffic jam that piled up as guys lined up very patiently to get her number, at the exhibit, I’ve had the similar pleasure of watching people congregate at all the sexy looking posters AROUND me while I stand there, neglected, lonely and sad.

Just kidding! I am being a drama queen, true to my nature at its core. The truth is, I had a few people come up to me and ask me decently intelligent questions about my research. Hopefully, I was able to articulate my research in a clear enough manner. Most people went away, if not bowled over by the genius of my research, at least very pleasantly happy that they found everything easy to understand and digest.

This rather cute guy approached me at one point and we had a pleasant conversation. As it turned out, he’s attending the University of Maryland School of Medicine and I told him that I wanted to go there, but didn’t get in. He laughed and told me that a friend of his wanted to go to Drexel but didn’t get in. We both shook our heads at the bewildering phenomenon otherwise known as med school acceptances. He said he wasn’t loving the city of Baltimore though, to which I comforted him by saying, well at least you can look forward to an awesome library. I said that not without a twinge of envy, because I truly was very impressed with Maryland’s library.

The other standout person that I met was this Chinese guy with a mop like hair. He works for the FDA and is interested in small, silencing RNAs. He approached me and began asking me questions in Chinese. Now, folks, explaining science in plain English was hard enough already. Imagine that I had to explain it in mandarin Chinese!! I did my best but a couple of times, he asked me some questions to which I had no frickin’ clue what the hell he was referring to. I was only able to shake my head apologetically and say, “Bu zhi dao” and then I apologized for my Chinese but to be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn’t have understood the same question if asked in English. The great thing about this guy was that he got all mystical and he said it is his belief that RNAs are the original genetic materials on Earth and that it precede both DNA and proteins. Not only that, RNAs, he asserted, were introduced to Earth by extraterrestials and thus, that was how life began on Earth. I listened to all this in awed silence, because it felt surreal to hear of such sci-fi beliefs at a science convention, at the NIH no less. But whether or not there is any validity to his beliefs, I really can’t say. However my encounter with this person definitely stood out in my mind as one of the more interesting encounters I’ve had in a while.