Hiroshi Wantanabe / Getty Images
After 3 days, 12 panels, 67 social events and more than 2,000 poster sessions, the 2021 Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome came to an end on Wednesday. The conference – the society’s first since canceling its 2020 annual meeting last October because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – was also the first to be held entirely online.
More than 4,000 registered participants accessed the meeting’s video panels and virtual poster sessions on their sofas, home offices and cars. That number is a small fraction of the tens of thousands who would normally attend, but the virtual participants kept busy.
Twitter slowed and flowed with tweets about sessions and summaries (and photos of pets), many of them from early-stage scientists. They highlighted the many benefits of an online meeting, including increased accessibility and the chance to see multiple posters at the same time. At least anecdotally, some noticed a higher percentage of female scientists at the meeting. But others missed the trip and the opportunity to meet new colleagues face to face.
I loved listening to Makenka / Kanwisher / Sudhoff Dual perspectives @SfNtweets # SfNConnectome21 My 2 cents: @AllenInstitute https://t.co/KagPabC1gT and your human data will help to unite mol / systems / anatomical levels
– Serena Dudek (@Serenadudette) January 12, 2021
Fantastic microglia-neuron interactions spoken by @lab_schaefer in # SfNConnectome21!
– Michelle Monje (@michelle_monje) January 13, 2021
The meeting’s online chorus generated about 3,500 tweets using the conference hashtag, # SfNConnectome21, over three days. Traffic peaked each day with the start of the first morning session.
It took a while to get used to the new format. Presenters sometimes found it difficult to share their screens and posters on the virtual conference platform. But some participants praised the virtual poster sessions, many of which included pre-recorded presentations.
I liked the presentation of the digital summary: “Prediction in autism spectrum disorder: what does the empirical evidence say?” at the # SfNConnectome21 with Jonathan Cannon from Sinha Lab today! For conference participants, the poster is still available for viewing!
– Amanda Marie O’Brien (@Amanda_M_OBrien) January 12, 2021
Check out Alex’s # SfNConnectome21 poster (P020.03) at 3 pm ???? today to learn about the altered connectivity of dopaminergic projections from VTA to PFC! ????????#SFN # sfn2021 #dopamine #social behavior #Autism #neuroscience @scrippsresearch pic.twitter.com/f6ju7rfxnt
– Damon Page Lab (@damonpagelab) January 11, 2021
“I really enjoyed exploring the posters at my leisure, zooming in on certain graphics or details and listening to the recordings the authors made,” said Ashley Marquardt, a graduate student in Margaret McCarthy’s lab at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. “I could stop, write something, listen to a certain part again that I may have missed. In that sense, I almost prefer the experience in person. “
Larger sessions included a plenary on interactions between the brain and the gut microbiome and a discussion of the experiences of black neuroscientists.
Inspired by science, history and the potential of different model organisms in neuroscience and in the defense of diversity in science, regardless of the stage of your career, all in a plenary session. Thanks @ pollyp1 . # SfNConnectome21
– Dr. Stephanie Gupton (@ stephgupton1) January 12, 2021
Several participants praised the question and answer sessions, which used live text responses and positive votes. Even the cheerful interstitial music received some comments.
Last day of # SfNConnectome21! In addition to the great panels and interesting discussions, I will also miss the funky jingle before the start and at the end of each session. ???? I’m the only one?
– Dr. Alexandrina Guran (@GuranCNA) January 13, 2021
And since the conference was remote, some participants observed, she opened the meeting to people who were unable to travel to attend the meeting even before the pandemic.
“I think the remote format has allowed a wide variety of individuals to come together that they otherwise would not have been able to because of travel and accommodation fees,” says Janay Vacharasin, a graduate student at Sofia Lizarraga’s lab at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
For scientists in the early stages of their careers, including graduate presenters, the virtual conference was the first.
“It was the first time I attended the conference and the first time it was held remotely, so I honestly didn’t know what to expect,” said Taylor Spadory, a graduate student at Yale University who presented a virtual poster at the meeting. Spadory says he liked the accessibility and convenience of a virtual conference.
???? thinking the # SfNConnectome21 @SfNtweets something is still missing. Oh, right: pic.twitter.com/S6tYmEHPj3
– Serena Dudek (@Serenadudette) January 11, 2021
Some aspects of a typical Neuroscience Society meeting were impossible to recreate, like visiting other cities, meeting new or old friends and seeing lots of posters and lectures, says Taeseon Woo, a graduate student in David Beversdorf’s lab at the University of Missouri at Columbia .
“I lost everything from # SfNConnectome21 sessions so far (and I’ll miss them tomorrow) because I’m stuck in the lab, ”wrote one participant in a tweet. “A major disadvantage of virtual conferences that we don’t talk about.”
But participants who missed the sessions will be able to watch them for three months after the end of the conference. Poster presentations will last one month.
The Society for Neuroscience plans to meet in November in Chicago, Illinois, for its 50º annual meeting.
Read more reports from 2021 Society for Neuroscience Global Connectome.