Blog: What I Learned from Presenting My Research at a Major Conference
Xiaoyu Duan is a doctoral student who recently received an Honorable Mention in the Student Paper Award Competition at the 2024 IEEE Medical Imaging Conference. We reached out to Duan so that she could share insights from the experience and what she valued the most about the event as a self-described “conference newbie.”
My name is Xiaoyu Duan, and I’m a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering working under Professor of Radiology Guobao Wang and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Ramsey Badawi. My research focuses on developing tracer kinetic modeling and optimizing scan durations for the liver to improve diagnosis accuracy for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
Recently, I received the opportunity to give an oral presentation at the 2024 IEEE Medical Imaging Conference, or MIC, at the start of my third year as a Ph.D. student. I can still vividly recall the joy I felt when I saw the notification email.
Collaborating with my lab colleagues at UC Davis has been productive and enjoyable. However, I’ve rarely had the chance to engage with external scholars and institutions to exchange ideas and gain insights from their perspectives face-to-face. The IEEE MIC conference was the perfect opportunity to bridge this gap.
I had the pleasure of meeting many brilliant professors and postdocs who are also working on kinetic modeling. During the poster session, I had in-depth discussions with them about their work, and, after my oral presentation, they offered valuable feedback, suggestions and insights on how my research could potentially benefit their projects. They also pointed out possible avenues for collaboration, which was incredibly inspiring.
This experience gave me a fresh perspective on research. It made me realize that while working hard in isolation is important, looking up and seeing what others are doing is equally crucial. Engaging with the broader research community enriches your work and keeps your mind more active and open to new ideas.
The new inspirations and ideas I gained during the IEEE MIC conference will only sharpen my research project. Observing how others effectively presented their work also provided me with valuable experience to improve my own presentations in the future.
