Meet Borja Barbero of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M University. Borja (pronounced bor-ha), a Spanish national and second year graduate student in the Shippen Lab, is on campus for the 2017 Telomeres & Telomerase meeting where he presented a poster. Read on to learn about the CSHL first-timer's work and refreshing take on the meeting. 

What are you working on? 
My focus is on plant telomeres. More specifically, I work on Arabidopsis Thaliana POT1B, a negative regulator of telomerase that seems to have evolved a role in plant development.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
My key takeaway is something Dr. Tom Cech said at the beginning of one of the sessions: "The research presented in these presentations are incomplete; however, with discussions among colleagues, we can make it more complete."

How many CSHL meetings have you attended?
This is the first meeting that I have attended at CSHL and, so far, it has been great. I hope to come back for the next Telomeres & Telomerase meeting. 

Was there something about the Telomeres & Telomerase meeting that drew you to attend? 
I was given the opportunity to present a poster at this meeting. It was a really good experience since I received excellent feedback from the telomere community.

If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her? 
That this meeting is definitely an excellent chance to hear new insights on any scientific field from the brightest minds in the world.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL? 
I enjoy the enthusiasm and scientific spirit -- everyone is so driven to push science forward.

Thank you to Borja 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.