The Genetics Society of AustralAsia's held its 55^th Annual Conference in Adelaide this year at the University of Adelaide. The CRC for National Plant Biosecurity supported my travel to attend this conference and present research from my honours year.

The conference featured talks by both student and professional researchers on a variety of topics. Some stand out presentations by plenary speakers included Jennifer Marshall Graves from ANU in Canberra talking about the evolution of sex chromosomes and the doomed future of the human Y chromosome. Ken Wolfe from the Smurfit Institute of Genetics in Dublin discussed polyploidisation and the role that whole genome evolution has played in the evolution of eukaryotes. Frederik Nijout from Duke University, USA, presented his groups research on the evolution of body size using the tobacco hornworm as an example. 

Presenting a poster was a great chance to talk one on one with other researchers who had an interest in my work. Meeting other students working in the same field of systematics was particularly useful in discussing ideas for my new PhD project with the CRCNPB which will be examining the coevolution of whiteflies and Acacia.

An added bonus to the trip was being awarded the Sidney James prize for the best student poster.

Attending the conference and presenting my research was a valuable opportunity to meet other researchers in my. It also was a great chance to hear about research in other fields and broaden my knowledge. I gained invaluable experience in networking and making contacts which will undoubtedly help me during my PhD. I believe that attending relevant conferences during the early stages of my PhD is extremely beneficial to my development as a researcher.

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