The LSI's ninth annual symposium was informative and engaging, with more than 200 people in attendance throughout the day. U-M students and faculty from across campus listened to keynote speaker, Gerald Crabtree, and top researchers from across the country specializing in cell biology discuss their latest research findings.

Each speaker also answered questions from the audience following their presentations.

Researcher Jennifer Doudna presents

A highlight of the day was the opportunity for students who work in LSI labs to have lunch with the day's presenters.

Xiao-Wei Chen, who does research in Alan Saltiel's lab, shared his thoughts, "It was a fantastic experience for me to interact with top scientists in the field. I had lunch with Peter Novick, who as a graduate student he identified all of the Sec genes, a discovery that perhaps transformed the field of membrane transport and inspired many of us to follow in his footsteps. Although we've met before, the casual atmosphere really allowed us to exchange thoughts on science and life as a scientist." 

To see photos from the event and the LSI student lunch with the presenters, click here.

Have ideas for future symposium topics or themes? Some we've received so far include: transcriptional regulation, DNA methylation, protein post-translational modification and trafficking, neurodegeneration, chemical biology tools... E-mail your ideas to: lsi-news@umich.edu