Remember when I said that the 9 hour bus ride to Torino would be a “piece of cake?” I must have forgotten that I hate cake. Without going into details, I assure you, this is a trip that I would not wish upon anyone. The only silver lining is the brown bag dinner, which comes with a banana. I’m not great at math, but I’m pretty sure monkey + banana = happy. If only I had a real pet monkey. I actually looked into this. Owning a monkey is both expensive and time-consuming, in other words, not suitable for a graduate/med student budget and lifestyle.
We get to the hotel at 2a.m., and the first meeting is at 8:15a.m. at the Lingotto, which is a 45 minute bus ride from the hotel. Eeesh, who needs sleep anyway. The Art Olympic Hotel is a gorgeous place. And I have a bidet in my bathroom. A bidet. Why? Is it necessary? Is it at all useful? Why not just use the bathtub 3 steps away?
I take a quick nap and make it to the Lingotto on time for the first meeting. In contrast to the Lindau meeting, ESOF is a bit disorganized. We have three different program books, each containing three different sections. Okay, yes, there are more sessions going on here, but is it really necessary to cross-reference three booklets to find a talk that I want to attend?
On day 1 of the conference, I meet up with Sabrina, a collaborator in Torino. Sabrina actually trained at my current lab for a year, long before I joined. I’ve seen her pictures, exchanged emails, worked with her cells, and at last, we meet in person! Sabrina takes me to Eataly, the most amazing food market. It’s not really fair to just call it a market; Eataly is more like a culinary mecca. The food and beverages here are of the highest quality. Clearly, in this country, food is holy. Their displays of the cheeses, meats, and wines are prepared with such pride and meticulous care that the place feels like a museum. Check out the cheese storage room:
There are various bars where you can get meals made to order. I gorge on a plate of seafood pasta—wow, Italian pasta is nothing like what I’ve eaten before, I could really get used to this—and then a generous serving of gelato. Oh delicious gelato, I can never eat enough of you. And speaking of gelato, look at this gem from a gelateria at the Lingotto (click on the picture for an enlarged version):
Wow. Apparently the rest of the world does not think of Americans very highly. If you are a fattie, you go for size Americano.
Back to the conference. The talks are informative, however, unlike most other science conferences focused on a specific field, ESOF is more of a general science meeting aimed to communicate recent research results to the public. In fact, nearly half of the attendees are journalists. The Robert Bosch Foundation is supporting not only 50 young scientists, but also 50 young journalists to attend ESOF. Each morning, all of us meet in a room, and representatives from each group recommend best talks of the day to everyone. It’s interesting what scientists and journalists consider to be good talks. Often, we pick the same talks but for different reasons. What a novel idea—bring researchers and journalists together so that they can team up and make science more accessible to everyone!
My two favorite sessions are as follows:
- The challenges of a changing environment: How do animals cope? Ok, the talks were actually very different from my expectations, but interesting nonetheless. I ask the panelists how global warming has affected the sea turtle population—because sex determination in sea turtles is temperature-dependent. So is the female:male ratio out of control, and are the turtles heading toward distinction? Turns out, despite active research in this area, little is known. Global warming may be changing the ratio, but the exact number is still unknown. Fortunately, the way sea turtle mating is done, not a lot of males are needed (harharhar, insert men-are-useless jokes here). So at least for a while, they’ll be ok. Whew.
- Epigenetics: Changes in genomic functions that control differentiation, stem cell tumors, and ageing. Compared to what I’ve learned in graduate school about epigenetics, this talk contains very basic information, starting at the structure of DNA and chromosome. The most important lesson I am taking away from this session is how to present scientific research to the public: don’t use jargons, do use good graphics, and just use plain English. A good scientist should be able to explain his/her work to just about anyone, including his/her own grandmother. By the way, did you know that Virinostat (SAHA), an HDAC inhibitor, has seen great success in treatment for leukemias, and has already entered trials for solid tumors? Wow. Conventional wisdom would tell you that an HCAD inhibitor has too general of a target and would likely carry a huge side effect profile—so far, not true. In science you really need to have an open mind!
Science aside, I am loving the free coffee at the conference center. The Italians really know how to make a delicious cup of cappuccino. I weaned myself off of coffee at the beginning of graduate school, but if I knew coffee could be this tasty, that never would have happened.
My most favorite memory at ESOF is, of course, lunch with Dr. Julia Fischer. It’s no secret that I love monkeys. The opportunity to attend a lunch-time roundtable discussion with Dr. Fisher, one of the most famous monkey researchers in the world, is absolutely amazing. At the end I ask for a group photograph with my monkey Affee in it, which in my opinion, is completely appropriate. But not everyone is so thrilled with this idea. Whatever, Dr. Fischer actually agrees to do this!
My love of monkeys always brings me good fortune. At this lunch, I meet Matteo, who is a Turin native, and kindly agrees to take the Bosch fellows on a tour of the city the next day. Ok. Prior to this tour, Turin to me felt like Baltimore, or maybe Detroit, of Italy because all we’ve seen so far are our hotel, the Lingotto (in a not-so-glamorous part of town), and crowded buses. Then this walking tour of the city completely changes my mind. What a charming city full of culture and history! This is where Italy was unified 149 years ago, and Turin was the first capital city. At multiple downtown locations, ESOF booths are bringing fun little experiments to people on the street. Everywhere in Turin, science is in the air! I am also very impressed by how safe it is to walk and bike in this city, even at night. Public transportation is convenient and accessible. I can actually see myself living here, and that is definitely a pleasantly surprising discovery.
Photos below are from this tour. The first one is of the Mole Antonelliana, which houses the Turin National Cinema Museum, one of the most famous landmarks of the city. It was first constructed as a synagogue, but halfway through, the rabbi in charge decided that the building had become too costly, and sold it to the city. The second one is the view of the city from across the Po River. On a sunny day, you can supposedly see the Alps in the background.
On the next day, Matteo kindly offers to drive me to Sabrina’s lab for a quick visit. Their lab is south of Turin in a smaller town, about a 45-minute drive away. I am so grateful that I didn’t have to navigate on my own and go by bus, which would have taken about 90min. Thanks a million Matteo! Driving in Italy is terrifying. There are no painted lines to distinguish one lane from the next, and the drivers are at least as aggressive as East Baltimore drivers. How do you know if you are in one lane or straddling two? Matteo says it’s one of those things that you “just know.” Perhaps; but I didn’t know. Then again, I am not Italian. I do, however, love that most cars are hatchbacks—so practical!
All good things must come to an end. Just as I really begin to love the city, it is time to move onto our next destination. Goodbye Torino, can I come see you again soon? I hope so.
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