Bregenz, Austria
Diana Kuo, 2006

Eighth International Symposium on Neurobiology and Neuroendocrinology of Aging

The abstracts submitted to the symposium this year by the undergraduates could be found here.

Brian Bui and Diana (Taiyi) Kuo pose with their poster - Comparing Cryoprotectant Effectiveness on Brain Tissue Viability

Heena Panchal's popular poster - The Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Curcumin Influences Gene Expression of C6 Rat Glioma in vitro - Attracts the attention of her fellow undergraduate researchers as well as Dr. Paola Timiras and Dr. Greg Cole.

The Growth Factors group, Liu Zhao, Arvin Gouw, Huayi Zhang, and Irene Thung, enjoying the Poster session on Thursday night while standing in front of their poster – Neuroendocrine Regulation of Proliferation, Maturation, and De-differentiation of Neuroglia.

The beautiful Lake Constance near the Kloster Mehrerau where members of the symposium could spend the day swimming and pedal boating.  This lake is also the site of the amazing floating stage for the opera “The Troubadour.”

The Timiras lab along with Dr. Judy Wong enjoying their Austrian dinner at the wonderful Kloster Keller behind the Kloster Mehrerau.  Doesn’t Brian Bui look great in those yellow shorts!

The first night in Bregenz was highlighted by a delicious dinner for everyone attending the symposium. Heena Panchal and Irene Thung drink and chat with distinguished professors.

Dr. E. Ferrari from the University of Pavia (Italy), his wife, Dr. G. Roth, Dr. P. Timiras, and Dr. J. Wong dine together.

The opera house showcased "The Troubadour" by Giuseppe Verdi. The original story focused on love and independence with a powerful lord of a castle who wants control and money on one side and the troubadour (poet, singer) who fights for the freedom of the poor people on the other side. Between the two, is a girl whom they both love. In the end, she chooses the troubadour but with a tragic outcome. To modernize the opera, the organizers translated the grammar and the setting to a more contemporary style. The castle was changed into a gas refinery and the lord became its owner. The troubadour evolved into a dashing revolutionary. Many people who attended the symposium also enjoyed the opera.