GOSH BRC Junior Faculty Conference and Training Support Fund - Maria Eriksson

Current Position: PhD student

Event/conference: 34th International Epilepsy Congress

Presenting: PhD results

Date: 28th August - 1st September 2021

Funding requested: £143

What did you present at the conference (including the title)?

In my talk entitled ‘Paediatric epilepsy surgery at a single specialist centre: What has changed over the past two decades?’, I presented the largest single centre cohort of paediatric epilepsy surgery patients to date. I also described how patient characteristics and surgery practices have changed over the past two decades, and examined if outcomes have improved.

What were the main benefits/learnings from the conference?

The conference offered a diversity of talks, case discussions, workshops and poster presentations on the topic of paediatric epilepsy surgery. The conference also ran smaller networking sessions, where a limited number of people could sign up and choose a virtual ‘seat’ at a table.

How did attending the conference benefit your career development?

By attending the conference, I was able to (successfully) apply for the conference’s mentorship programme. Through this mentorship programme, I was paired with a more senior clinician-researcher, who both provided feedback on my abstract and presentation, as well as insights into future career options. They also invited me to apply for the ILAE (International League Against Epilepsy) Big and Open Data Task Force, which would be an excellent networking opportunity.

Did you learn any tips or best practice about how to make the most of virtual attendance at a conference?

By attending the conference virtually, I could watch parallel sessions ‘on demand’, and thus not miss out on anything. I was also able to follow workshops at my own pace.