Maximize Your Time at SfN’s Annual Meeting

SfN’s annual meeting can provide an unparalleled opportunity to learn and connect with the neuroscience community. However, to have a successful meeting, it’s important to plan your itinerary carefully. Make a schedule of the events you want to attend and their location in advance of the meeting using the Neuroscience Meeting Planner.

Below are common reasons to attend the annual meeting, accompanied by tips to help get the most out of your time in Chicago.

Presenting Your Research

• Think carefully about how you design your poster and organize your talk. Talk to your mentor or colleagues about the best approach for your research.
• Prepare a 30-second overview of your poster. When a visitor approaches, begin with the brief overview — don’t launch into a full explanation of your project. Following your overview, let visitors tell you what they are interested in hearing more about, and consider asking visitors how much time they have and the level of detail they’re looking for.
• Locate the site of your poster presentation. As your schedule allows, attend poster sessions in advance of your presentation to learn from what others are doing.
• Pick up a “Poster Presenter” pin at one of the kiosks located on the poster floor.
• Split your time during your poster session between standing at your poster and speaking with other presenters about their posters. Don’t forget, you must stand at your poster during your assigned hour.
• Leave business cards and a printout with information on your project (after you verify you can with your funding agency and PI) when not at your poster.
• Invite colleagues and friends to attend your poster. You will build confidence by practicing your talk on familiar people. Also, poster session attendees are drawn to a crowd, so this tactic may increase the number of attendees who drop by.

Learning About Research in Your Area of Study

• Use the curated itineraries to find events that interest you.
• Attend socials in your area of study and those that are a step removed from your work to network with colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.
• Attend clinical training opportunities such as a Basic-Translational-Clinical Roundtable or Meet-the-Clinician-Expert session.
• Prepare to attend posters by reading presenters’ papers and identifying the methods and results you want to discuss.
• Bring business cards with a current email address.
• Ask for business cards when you meet new people. Write notes about your discussion topics and why you want to connect with them on the back of their cards.

Expanding Your General Knowledge of the Field

• Prepare to attend posters by reading presenters’ papers and identifying the methods and results you want to discuss.
• Use the curated itineraries to find events that interest you.
• Go to the Presidential Special Lectures to familiarize yourself with some of the biggest names in the field and with some areas of neuroscience research you may not know much about. Note that these lectures are designed to be understood by neuroscientists at all career levels, regardless of area of study.

Finding a Graduate Program

• Attend the Graduate School Fair, but pay attention to the date. Not every program exhibits Saturday–Tuesday. Pick up a program of exhibiting programs on Saturday when the Grad Fair opens to see when the programs you’re interested in will have a booth.
• Reach out to the programs you’re most interested in before the meeting to schedule a meet-and-greet.
• Schedule your most important meet-and-greets ahead of time, but be open to scheduling additional meetings as opportunities arise. Research the program thoroughly before you meet.
• Connect with students enrolled in the programs that are of interest to you to find out whether the program is right for you.
• Update your CV or resume and have copies on you at all times.

Learning About a New Career Path

• Attend Professional Development Workshops on topics relating to career paths. Professional Development Workshops take place Saturday–Monday during the meeting.
• Attend Career Development Topics: A Networking Event Saturday from 7:30–9:30 p.m. Rotate among the tables discussing topics of interest to you to collect advice from the established neuroscientists stationed there.
• Visit the NeuroJobs Career Center before the meeting to apply for jobs with employers who will be interviewing candidates onsite at the meeting. Visit the NeuroJobs Career Center during the meeting to post your resume and apply for open positions.
• Visit the exhibit floor to ask exhibitors about their jobs and career progression.

Building Your Professional Skillset

• Attend the Neuroscience Departments and Programs Workshop Sunday evening to refine your teaching techniques.
• Consider attending a preconference workshop. On the Friday before the meeting, SfN will offer two scientific short courses and one half-day short course focused on ethics, rigor, and responsible conduct of research.
• Visit the SfN booth to learn more about the professional development and training resources available to members on Neuronline year-round.

Landing a New Job

• Visit the NeuroJobs Career Center before the meeting to apply for jobs with employers who will be interviewing candidates onsite at the meeting. Visit the NeuroJobs Career Center during the meeting to post your resume and apply for open positions. 
• Email the PIs of the labs that interest you before the meeting to schedule a coffee meeting. Many postdoctoral positions are secured this way. 
• Update your CV or resume and have copies on you at all times.
• Visit the exhibit floor to ask exhibitors about their jobs and career progression.
• Attend Professional Development Workshops on topics relating to career paths and career skills. Professional Development Workshops take place Saturday–Monday.
• Attend Career Development Topics: A Networking Event Saturday evening. Rotate between tables that are discussing topics you want to learn more about, and network with the established neuroscientists stationed there.

Building Your Scientific Network and Finding Collaborators

• Identify labs whose research would be helpful to your work and go to the posters on research from those labs. Contact lab members ahead of the meeting to schedule a coffee meeting.
• Spend time at poster sessions within your area of study, and in the areas of study of any labs you identified as potential collaborators, to strike up conversations.
• Attend socials in your area of study and those that are a step removed from your work to network with colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.
• Don’t forget the exhibit floor. Build relationships with the employees of organizations and companies you work with throughout the year.

Giving Back to the Field

• Consider attending the Brain Awareness Reception, Public Advocacy Forum, and the Social Issues Roundtable to network with neuroscience advocates and to learn how you can get involved or improve your advocacy skills.
• Make yourself available to less experienced neuroscientists as a mentor. Sometimes, the most effective mentors are only one career stage ahead of their mentee.
• Visit the BrainFacts.org counter at the SfN booth to find out how to register for the Find a Neuroscientist program.
• Attend the Brain Awareness Campaign Event Saturday afternoon to learn about public outreach opportunities.

For more resources to help you have a successful annual meeting, check out the Advice for SfN’s Annual Meeting collection on Neuronline.