Written by: Hailey Odell, ISA Marketing and Events Assistant

Throughout the academic year, students of the Iowa Sciences Academy are provided with opportunities to travel to out-of-state scientific conferences. At these conferences, students can make connections, present their research, and learn more about scientific communication. During the Fall 2025 semester, Bhoomika Shettigar, majoring in Neuroscience, and Riley McCoy, a Biomedical Sciences student, traveled to the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Conference held November 15-19, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center. Bhoomika and Riley shared their experiences. 

Bhoomika is a research assistant in the Development, Experience, and Neurocognition (DEN) Lab under Dr. Ece Demir-Lira, and her poster was titled "fNIRS Evidence for Transitional Frontal-Parietal Connectivity in Early Symbolic Number Acquisition." SfN is a large conference with an attendance of around 20,000 people. Bhoomika recounts that "it was overwhelming at first, but I really enjoyed the different events they offered, such as lectures, symposiums, poster presentations, company exhibits, and a graduate school fair." 

Conferences such as SfN are a great space to meet connections within the scientific community. Bhoomika attests that "SfN taught me that I am much more extroverted than I give myself credit for. I struck up conversations and connected with people from all over the world. I dislike the word 'networking' because it can sound soulless but pushing myself out of my comfort zone to meet others, even for a brief moment, introduced me to so many facets of neuroscience that I wouldn't have otherwise known."

Bhoomika adjusted seamlessly to the company and team involved with her lab, NIRx. She says, "the team was a part of the SfN exhibits, and they graciously took us out for dinner. I was nervous at first, but I quickly realized that 1) the NIRx team was easygoing and fun to talk to, and 2) I felt confident in my knowledge about neuroscience and research." An academic experience that stuck out to Bhoomika was when "one graduate student provided me with valuable feedback on how to present my research in a more engaging manner, highlighting not only the unique aspects of my methods but also the fNIRS technology I was using."

In addition to academic and connective aspects, Bhoomika appreciated the experience of exploring San Diego in her free time during the trip. "We watched the sunset over the Pacific Ocean at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, went to an arboretum at Balboa Park, ate the BEST tacos at Tacos El Gordo in Gaslamp Quarter, and had refreshing gelato in Little Italy." When asked about what she enjoyed most, Bhoomika said, "I really can't pick a favorite part. This was my first time traveling without my family, so it will definitely hold a special place in my heart as I further emerge into adulthood."

Riley is in the Marcinkiewcz Lab and studies how serotonergic and noradrenergic brain circuitry are altered in disorders like Alzheimer's Disease and Alcohol Use Disorder. Riley commented on the amount of people in attendance at SfN. "The scale of the conference was mind-blowing. I really liked meeting other students and learning about their own career trajectories." On scientific connections, Riley mentioned that he had the chance to "connect with other labs doing niche research similar to my own, which is something that is rare for researchers. I was able to receive a lot of career and personal growth input from professional development workshops and from grad students on a similar path."

Riley says that his favorite part of the trip was "seeing the cutting-edge research being done by famous figures in the field." He also took advantage of the area's fun activities, recounting that he "was able to stop by the San Diego Zoo, which was an awesome experience."