Spring is here again, and it is time for the most reliable sign of spring – BLAM. BLAM stands for Biology in Lund Annual Meeting and is a conference organised by, and for, our doctoral students. In addition to two invited speakers, the postgraduate students deliver all the lectures and oversee all the poster presentations.
Last Thursday and Friday, we filled Palaestra, with a record 188 registrations.
The quality improves each year, making it increasingly difficult for the prize committee to select winners in the various categories.
The twelve-minute presentation category was awarded to Katie Laschanzky for her talk “Colonisation, virulence or persistence: many sides of Mycobacterium avium.”
The flash talk category was won by Janka Kluge, who discussed “Optic flow neurons in the bumblebee brain.”
Agnes Erland Hansson was the winner in the poster category with her presentation “Transgenerational effects of malaria on offspring condition in great reed warblers.”
The invited speakers also delivered an exceptionally high standard this year. On Thursday, Rachel Jabaily from Colorado College in the USA commenced by outlining her journey from student to professor and described how she has integrated phylogeny, biogeography and teaching in her research on flowering plants.
Michael Rera began on Friday by discussing smurfs – that is, Drosophila flies and fish that have ingested blue pigment – enabling his research group to study ageing.
As usual, BLAM concluded with a large reception in the foyer of the Ecological House, featuring mingling, award ceremonies and celebrations well into the night.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who organised and participated in BLAM this year, making it yet another success.
Text: Inger Ekström
Photo: Inger Ekström and Christina Rengefors
