I attended a scientific meeting in June 2018, at Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The meeting was a tremendous success, and was an excellent platform for presenting and discussing my research with my peers, and network with international researchers across the field of parasitology.

The first two days involved an ‘early careers’ workshop for PhD students and early post-docs, where the focus was on basic to translational research of parasitic diseases. The remainder of the meeting was the main conference event which involved a diverse number of different parasite research. It involved topics including pathogenesis, host-parasite interactions, immunity, drug discovery and vaccine design.

At the conference I participated in several hours of poster presentation of my research, as well as further round-the-table discussions. The opportunity to network and casually talk with different experts in my field was significantly useful. The discussions during the conference have aided my current PhD work.

During free-time I was able to go sightseeing and take in the history of Newport, go for a stroll along the beach, and also walk various nature trails, including the stunning Cliff Walk.

The conference ended with a big dinner and ‘disco’ which was a lot of fun. Overall, the meeting was extremely beneficial and a great experience.