STAN-X WEST COAST STUDENT CONFERENCE

Earlier this spring, forty students and instructors from three schools in the western U.S. convened for the Stan-X research conference on the Stanford University campus.

After an introductory group activity among the participants, the morning and afternoon were filled poster sessions and oral presentations. The participating students of Harvard-Westlake School (Los Angeles), Albuquerque Academy (NM) and Lowell High School (San Francisco) presented their work on the fly strains they generated during the past school year. This included presentation of intercrosses, molecular studies and gene expression mapping in tissues.

Meeting participants took a lunch hour on the sunny terrace of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. This refreshed caloric and fluid needs, and provided opportunities for students and instructors to meet with members of the Seung Kim lab, and discuss science and careers in science. Afterwards, students were led on guided tours through lab space in the Beckman Center.

In concluding remarks, Stan-X co-director Dr. Lutz Kockel promoted all participants to the status of honorary masters of genetics, “because," as he put it, "they are”.

The in-person Stan-X conference at Stanford started in 2022, and this year's meeting was another resounding success. Together with the parallel east-coast Stan-X conference at the Lawrenceville School in NJ, a total of over 100 students and teachers presented data generated through the Stan-X curricula, and met with their peers. These activities emulate those of practicing scientists. The teachers and organizers look forward to the next meeting in 2024.