Former ERI graduate student attends Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany

Former ERI graduate student attends Nobel Laureate Meetings in Germany
Shengnan Qiao
Shengnan Qiao, who spent two years conducting research at OU's Eye Research Institute, recently attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, where she met with Nobel Prize winners and young scientists from around the world.

Shengnan Qiao, who spent two years as a joint Ph.D. student in Oakland University’s Eye Research Institute (ERI), recently rubbed elbows with some of the world’s preeminent research scientists at the 68th annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Lindau, Germany. The event drew 39 Nobel Laureates and 600 young scientists from 84 nations. 

 

Following a rigorous application process, Qiao was one of only 30 graduate students in her home country of China selected to attend the meetings. She was inspired to meet young scientists from around the world and glean insight from Nobel Laureates, whose passion resonated with her.

 

“None of the Nobel Laureates did their research with the Nobel Prize or publication as their goal,” she said. “They simply do the work because they are curious about life science and interested in figuring out what is going on and why it happens. I have a deeper feeling about this simple truth and hope I can remember it through my life.”

 

At the meetings, Qiao spoke with Drs. Michael W. Young and Michael M. Rosbash, who along with Dr. Jeffrey C. Hall, were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on the circadian rhythm. Qiao also had lunch with Dr. Bert Sakmann, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1991 for developing methods for patch clamping, a laboratory technique that Qiao learned at the ERI and used in her research.

 

After coming to Oakland in 2014 from Fudan University in Shanghai, Qiao worked with her ERI faculty mentor Dr. Dao-Qi Zhang on research exploring how retinal neurons support visual function. She published two first-author peer-reviewed scientific journal articles on this topic, and presented her research at OU's 2016 Graduate Student Research Conference.

 

“In Dr. Zhang’s lab, I was well-trained in experimental designs, data collection and analysis, manuscript writing, and giving oral and poster presentations at scientific conferences,” she said. “Through this training, I obtained a solid background in visual neuroscience and extensive experience in electrophysiology, pharmacology, genetic and optical imaging approaches.”

 

Qiao will build on this experience when she starts postdoctoral training in the Department of Ophthalmology at Yale University this fall.

Shengnan Qiao and Dr. Michael Rosbash

Shengnan Qiao and Dr. Michael M. Rosbash, co-winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine