Several Gemmell Lab members were over in Melbourne in July to showcase their research to the XXIII International Congress of Genetics, where the overarching theme was Genetics & Genomics: Linking Life & Society. The Congress was aiming at covering the breadth of fundamental discoveries in genetics and genomics, the latest advances in technologies, and important and topical applications in areas such as health, agriculture and the conversation of species and the environment. Our team delegation was a group of 7 hailing from little Dunedin, New Zealand: Neil Gemmell himself, Alana Alexander, Gert-Jan Jeunen, Kristen Fernandes, Chloé Van Der Burg, Benjamín Durán-Vinet, and Monica Vallender.
Neil Gemmell giving a plenary presentation on day 2 of the Conference: ” Fishing for Insights in Sex Determination, Differentiation and Reproductive Biology”. Loving the red shoes!Gert-Jan Jeunen with his presentation entitled “Molecular time-capsules – reconstructing Antarctica’s marine ecosystem using historical and contemporary eDNA from marine sponge specimens” on the 4th day of the congress. Go, sponges!Kristen Fernandes presented also on day 4 a talk entitled “Expanding the applicability of eDNA metabarcoding through data reuse: insights for landscape-scale ecology and invasive species monitoring”. Look at those elasticated cuffs… I’m getting lab coat envy.Benjamín Durán-Vinet ditched his usual T-shirt outfit and put on a suit to give his presentation “CRISPR-based detection for marine biomonitoring: deep learning modelling as a novel tool for smart CRISP RNA designs” on the last (but not least!) day of the conference.
Chloé van Der Burg next to her poster entitled “Uncovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms of sex change in the New Zealand Spotty Wrasse”. Great poster colours, Chloé! Monica Vallender next to her poster ” Genotyping-by-sequencing reveals male-female relatedness influences cryptic female choice in Chinook Salmon” in yet another international conference – this girl is on fire!
Lastly, a shot of one of the conference photographers took a snap of a lovely moment shared between Ben and his family which were right there beside him for this special occasion! Such an inspiring family, you guys are awesome!
Benjamín Durán-Vinet enjoying a quiet moment with wife Karla and son Maximo.
