Attending this year’s 34th Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (KSMCB) winter conference was an excellent opportunity to see and hear from numerous outstanding researchers working in different areas. I attended this conference as an undergraduate research student from the Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation at Sungkyunkwan University. As a first-timer at an academic conference, I was initially nervous since I had little understanding of what the conference was like and the stance I had to take to get the best out of this experience. Soon enough, I found myself enlightened by the different lectures along with the variety of poster presentations exhibited across the hall.

   On the first day of the conference, I had the chance to view all the other posters in the hall and ask the authors about their research. By doing this, I learned different approaches to research from delegates working in the same field. I was particularly fascinated with the posters from Mokpo National University on adipocyte differentiation on natural products which broadened my perspective of the different experimentation methods and uses of adipocyte research. Additionally, it was intriguing to see the differences in research styles in a structured format which gave me ideas to strengthen my future research works. I was also impressed with the posters as they conveyed the high amount of work every lab from different universities has done, which inspired me to delve more into research with a creative and open-minded attitude.

   On the second and third days, I attended the Rose lectures and the Young Investigator Session, which contained some topics that were new and interesting, as well as topics that were related to my research. Throughout the sessions, I took notes on topics I would like to explore and ideas that could help with my research study. During the sessions, I was enthralled by Professor Jae Bum Kim’s lecture on the “Roles of Heterogenous Adipose Tissues” when he shared tips for becoming an independent scientist. I was especially attentive when listening to his lecture since the topic was related to my research study. I also enjoyed listening to Professor Woong Sun’s lecture on “Mitochondrial Division and Nucleoid Replication” as I gained new knowledge on the machinery of mitochondria on how it divides. As each speaker disclosed their areas of interest, I gained new knowledge and approaches to research.

   Throughout the three-day course of the program, I was able to stay curious and remain motivated to learn and utilize the new tools and ideas in my research. Furthermore, this conference generated an opportunity for all of us to collaborate and build relationships with our peers and colleagues. One aspect I felt lacking was the short time for Q&A sessions between lectures. Nevertheless, my experience at this conference was exceptional and allowed me to reflect on ways to become a better researcher.