Amanda Storm, a Miami University biochemistry Ph.D. student, will be traveling to Lindau, Germany in June and have the opportunity to meet successful scientists and researchers in the fields of physiology and medicine.
Storm was recently selected to join young researchers from 70 different countries for the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting. Established in 1951, the six-day event consists of lectures from Nobel Laureates with a focus on medicine and physiology. More than 20,000 people applied for the honor, and only 550 were chosen to attend.
Storm was encouraged to apply for the meetings by her adviser and research director Carole Smith.
In order for a nominee to be eligible, his or her laboratory must be funded by the Department of Energy. Individual schools can nominate up to two students. After this, the Department of Energy has a panel that reviews every application submitted by a U.S. institution. Then, a panel in Lindau, Germany decides who the finalists will be.
There were more than 500 applicants from the U.S. alone, and 80 were chosen to attend.
At the meetings, Storm will have the opportunity to interact with Nobel Laureate prizewinners and other young researchers.
Attendees also have the opportunity to meet with the prizewinners in an informal setting. This allows the graduate students to talk about their successes, struggles and current research with people they wouldn't otherwise get a chance to meet.
"This is a really valuable experience for structuring your own future," Storm said.
By networking with other graduate students and successful researchers, Storm will have even more resources for her future endeavors.
"This is a great honor not just for Amanda, but for Miami," Smith said. "It shows the quality of our research and teaching abilities because she was deemed an exceptional applicant."
Smith directs the projects and seeks funding for them. She and Storm then collaborate to decide on the best plan for carrying out their experiments. Storm is in the lab on a daily basis to track the progress of the projects.
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The pair's current focus is protein transport in plant cells and how the proteins aid in photosynthesis. Storm is trying to find out how the protein moves between cell membranes. It is currently unknown how the protein is structured and how it moves. Storm said she hopes to be able to witness the protein moving in order to better understand how it functions.
Storm is unsure about what she wants to do in the future, but she is leaning toward staying in academia and teaching future students. Whatever she chooses, she hopes this opportunity will open many doors for her future.
"I am so psyched … I didn't expect to get past the first round," Storm said. "It was a great surprise."
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