Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund report – Julia Dabrowska (2022, Bioscience)

In March 2025, I had the opportunity to attend and present a poster at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society’s (CNS) Annual Meeting 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, thanks to support from the Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference & Academic Travel Fund. This conference is a prominent one in my field, and I was very excited to attend my first international conference and present my first poster at such a large-scale event.

The poster I presented was part of a Sketchpad Series (intended for work in progress) and covered my initial DPhil work investigating the differences in cognitive control observed during a symbol learning task, as well as my plans for further analysis of brain network dynamics during learning. This work was received well, and I was excited to make new connections with scientists from institutions around the world, some of whom I hope to collaborate with on future datasets. Overall, I was very happy with this experience and seeing the work of others has inspired me to explore other directions I had not previously considered and motivated me for my next poster presentation.

Besides my presentation & discussing the work of others, I attended multiple talks and symposia, relevant to my DPhil and the broader field of cognitive neuroscience. I found listening to discussions on the neuroscience of EEG and cognitive control particularly interesting, and from which I was able to draw inspiration for my further work and understand my project in a broader context. It was also very inspiring to network with, and hear from, leading experts in the field, as well as connect with early career researchers from many countries.

I am very grateful to have received funding from Univ for this conference as it was a great experience, which will set me up well for the continuation of my research & advancing in my field! I’m hugely grateful to the Trustees of the Old Members’ Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund for helping to make this possible.

Published: 23 May 2025

Explore Univ on social media