Chiara Musillo, a Ph.D. student from La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, won the first Atlas Antibodies’ travel grant competition to attend the FENS Forum 2022 in Paris, held in July. Our scientists at Atlas Antibodies selected her research project among many good applications.

Image: Chiara Musillo Ph.D. student, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy (center), Vladimir Petkovic, Digital Marketing Specialist, Atlas Antibodies (left), and Joel Svensson, Product Manager, Atlas Antibodies.

Here is her story in her own words:

"One of the most important steps for an early career scientist is represented by having the opportunity to attend international scientific meetings. These events allow young and senior researchers to interact with the entire scientific community and to present the result of the most innovative and promising biomedical findings.

FENS forum (Federation of European Neuroscience Societies) is one of the largest and multidisciplinary international conferences, that gather researchers from all around the world, with clinical and preclinical perspectives on neuroscience. I had the opportunity to actively participate at the FENS forum 2022, which was held in Paris, thanks to the support of Atlas Antibodies.

During this event, I presented the results from the Ph.D. project I am working on, studying the neurobiological mechanisms underlying different early life stressors and their long-term effects on mental health. In this regard, the reciprocal interaction with other young and senior researchers gave me important feedback on my experimental work and great ideas for future steps.

”The main goal of my research work is to study the neurobiological mechanisms underlying different early life stressors with a specific focus on derangements in oxidative stress pathways and inflammatory processes and their sequelae on neurodevelopment ultimately increasing the individual vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.” Chiara Musillo 

A further crucial aspect of being a scientist, especially for early career researchers, consists of building a wide and multidisciplinary network with both academia and industry. In my experience, Atlas Antibodies had a pivotal role in this bridge. More in detail, the team of Atlas Antibodies welcomed me to the conference, interacted with me during my poster presentation, and sponsored my research work on social media. They also provided large-scale and informative details on their products through their booth, in a friendly environment for all the participants of the Forum.

 I believe that the initiative of Atlas Antibodies to provide travel grants is a unique opportunity for early career scientists. This support contributes to strengthening the mutual crosstalk between scientists and companies that is fundamental for developing new technologies and innovative approaches to moving forward in science."