Cade Fulton was a recipient of an NZSPB Equity Bursary to assist her to present her research at an international conference. She shares an update below:
It was my great honour to receive the equity bursary from NZSPB to attend the International Society Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions Congress in Providence, Rhode Island in July 2023. As the main caregiver for my two young daughters your support greatly contributed to travel expenses to bring my children with me, and the childcare costs while I attended the conference. Without financial support to bring my children with me I would not have been able to attend this prestigious international conference.
There were over 750 attendees from 40 different countries and a fact that I thought was very interesting was that 2/3 of the attendees were first-timers like me. Popular topics covered in the presentations were microbiome studies, pathogen receptor genes in plants, and the symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes. I presented my poster titled “The effects of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiance on Brassica and Alternaria brassicicola interactions in New Zealand” and had a lot of interesting and helpful conversations about my project during the poster sessions. A highlight of the entire experience for me was meeting Jonathan “JJ” Jones in person and discussing my project with him. He even shared valuable insights into new directions I might take in my research.
To make the most of my time in the U.S. I contacted several labs in the country who work in my area. Consequently, I was invited by Dr Sydney Everhart’s lab working on the Alternaria Brassicicola Research Project at the University of Connecticut in conjunction with the University of Atlanta and Cornell University among others. We all presented our research projects and then I spent some time in their lab to see their work. I was able to ask lots of questions about their methods and results which is proving to be invaluable to my own research.
I want to extend my sincere appreciation again to the NZSPB for offering this support to primary caregivers working hard to balance their family commitments with tertiary education.
