Meet Yi-Jyun Luo of Harvard University. Having recently graduated from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (Japan), Yi-Jyun joined Mansi Srivastava's lab this past September as a postdoctoral fellow. He is affiliated with the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and returns to CSHL to attend his second CSHL course in two years. This year, Yi-Jyun is training at the 2017 Scientific Writing Retreat which is held annually in the Banbury Conference Center. 

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am interested in evolutionary developmental biology, and my research interests are in animal body patterning and cell fate regulation during evolution. I am working on stem cell regulation in a new regeneration model: acoel Hofstenia miamia.

Was there something specific about the Scientific Writing Retreat course that drew you to apply?
Writing is an essential aspect of doing science in terms of getting publications and grants. As a non-native English speaker, I am always working to improve my English writing and to better communicate my ideas and research. From my past experience of attending CHSL meetings and courses, I knew this course would be an excellent opportunity for me to learn scientific communication skills.

What is your key takeaway from the Course?
The diversity in the attendees, and the encouraging environment fostered by the Course to share and speak with those from different fields, are awesome. I have picked up a lot of new ideas on how to deliver my work to a target audience and to lay people. 

How many CSHL courses and meetings have you attended?
This is my third time at CSHL but this is my first time at the Banbury Center. I attended the Biology of Genomes meeting in 2015 and the Programming for Biology course in 2016.

If someone curious in attending a future iteration of the Scientific Writing Retreat course asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I highly recommend this course as it is very rewarding in terms of scientific and personal experiences. The course is exceptional for learning written communication know-how from the best, and it is also an excellent networking opportunity to meet editors face-to-face. Also, the Banbury Center is a lovely setting for this course.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
I really enjoy the unique and inspiring atmosphere at CSHL. Both the Banbury Center and Main Campus are full of natural scenery and academic history, and are all about cutting-edge technology and science communication. Also, people are friendly and there are plenty of opportunities to interact with fellow scientists and journal editors.

Yi-Jyun received a stipend from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to cover a portion of his course tuition. On behalf of Yi-Jyun, thank you to NIGMS for supporting and enabling our young scientists to attend a CSHL course where they expand their skills, knowledge, and network.

Thank you to Yi-Jun for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.