From Wednesday to Sunday I was in Seattle for the Society for Biomaterials' annual meeting. I presented a poster and was able to make some good contacts at the FDA and I was also able to learn a bit more about what all is going on with fellow biomaterials enthusiasts. Although it sounds like it would be a very focused conference (which it was, to some degree) the different fields of work represented were very diverse. I was able to see all the posters and attend some really interesting presentations. I mainly stuck to the orthopedic stuff, but I attended some dental material talks and also a few on bone regenerative materials.
The most enjoyable part of the conference was actually when I attended a panel discussion about the grand challenges in biomaterials. Monty introduced the speakers, but it was moderated by Buddy Ratner (!!! -- if you are in BME, you know who this is). There were 6 speakers, all of very high esteem and are well-known for their work; they each focused on a different challenge that they see in biomaterials. Drs. Buddy Ratner, James Anderson, Art Coury, Allan Hoffman, Cato Laurencin, and David Tirrell were part of that discussion and the questions from the audience that followed were also very stimulating. I'm so glad I was able to attend this discussion!
Also being at this conference helped me realize what a big deal Monty is. I knew he was well-known, but as soon as people found out I was in his lab, they started treating me like a celebrity! At least 6 people introduced themselves and said they wanted to come post-doc in our lab and they all wanted to know if he's really as nice/laidback as he seems. Seeing him just hanging out with all the big wigs of BME was really neat.
Seattle was also a really neat city, very vibrant with much to see. On Thursday, our first full day there, Lucinda and I were able to go to the Space Needle and we ate lunch in the revolving restaurant at the top. The views were amazing and even MORE amazing -- it didn't rain! Only once during all the days we were there did it sprinkle a little bit, but as we were in presentations, it didn't even matter. I saw sun every single day, for a majority of the day :-) Anyway, back to the Space Needle. The views were gorgeous although I still couldn't see the Pacific Ocean (darn). While walking back to the hotel we also stopped to walk through Seattle's Pike Place Market. For anyone who goes to Seattle, this was the best thing I saw there. I could people-watch and enjoy all of the stuff going on -- the musicians on street corners, vendors tossing fish around, insane amounts of flowers, pastries, coffee, crafts, handmade soaps/lotions/candles, etc. I went back to the market 2 other times without Lucinda (she had to work :-( ) just to look around some more. Also, it's located right on the waterfront, so I could enjoy looking out over the water while I was walking around. The very first Starbucks is also right on the market, but as a non-coffee drinker it was hard to get very excited about that. I did go in, just to say I'd been there, since I was in Seattle. I also wandered around some absolutely enormous stores, like 6-story Nordstroms, 3-story Old Navy, GAP, American Eagle, etc. This was also to kill time before sessions and because I like to people watch but I didn't want to wander too far from the hotel. The market was about 6 blocks from the hotel so I tried to stay in that general radius.
Essentially I made good contacts, ate really tasty food, met some cool people, and explored a neat city.
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