Collaboration in Conferences: Crossing the Pond with Confidence

In June 2023 the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) welcomed the 24th International C. elegans Conference to Glasgow for the first time. The event is sponsored by the Genetics Society of America (GSA) and is the premier international convening of the C. elegans community, bringing together researchers at every career stage; undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, faculty and industry, and Nobel laureates, all interested in this fascinating area of microbiology.

Its arrival in Glasgow was not just the first time the meeting convened outside of the United States, it was also the culmination of an almost five-year journey which had seen the meeting navigate a global pandemic and a change of date, whilst keeping stakeholders positive on the trans-Atlantic move.

So, how did the conference still have the confidence to stick with its ambition, and why was the event so successful? The answer from both the organisers of the affectionately named Worm23 Conference, and the team at the SEC was the same; collaboration and relationship.

The structure of the conference itself is vast. Taking place over four days, with sessions held from 8.30am to 10pm, and consisting of hundreds of presentations covering the full diversity of C. elegans research. Subjects investigated include genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology. It also opens up new areas of research, with additional relevance across medicine, covering areas from immunology to physiology and neuroscience. Worm23’s content allows academics to present new findings and share the most recent research conducted within their field. The event includes, invited speakers, attendee-organised workshops, poster presentations, and exhibitors, as well as professional development, networking events and an Art Show highlighting C. elegans.

It’s ability to reach academics across the world is a key objective for the conference organisers, and why, despite its prolonged success in the US, they began to look at an international move. Previously the event had found its home within university campus’, growing steadily from its inception in 1975, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and then moving to the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001.

However, in the late 2010s the conference’s leadership felt the time was right to reach out to its international audience and take the event outside of the US for the first time. At that point, 30% of the conference’s attendees were from outside of the US. Moving to Europe would broaden access to an international audience by offering a site that would be a shorter travel time commitment whilst reducing attendee travel costs.

This was done through the conference’s organising team, and in particular Anne Marie Mahoney, Director of Conferences, and the GSA leadership, who immediately sought to establish location, supplier partnerships, and the infrastructure needed to take the event to a completely new destination.