I just got back from St. Jude’s Bringing Chemistry to Medicine conference, and I’m still buzzing. It was a rare mix of high level research and high signal storytelling — truly a master class in presentation visualizations. Talks came in from across the world, and yet the throughline stayed crisp: use chemistry to push cancer research forward.

What stood out most was how seamlessly academia and industry were aligned. You could feel the shared mission in every session — no turf wars, just complementary strengths pointed at the same goal. Bench discoveries met translational strategy without friction, and it made the science feel both ambitious and actionable.

On a personal note, the conference opened my eyes to corners of biochemistry I hadn’t explored. I came in thinking mostly about my own project and left with a broader mental map of how chemical tools, assays, and mechanistic insights stitch together. It was especially cool to see techniques I use — like UMAP clustering, show up on stage to reveal gene activity patterns. Watching those landscapes form in real time made the biology behind the plots feel tangible.

The finale was an unexpected highlight: a tour of St. Jude’s research labs. “Packed” doesn’t begin to describe it — each room was dense with instrumentation, purpose‑built for speed and precision. A few instruments were true one‑of‑ones, designed specifically for their use cases. Seeing that ecosystem up close reframed how I think about scale, rigor, and the craft behind scientific workflow.

I left grateful and motivated. Great science, clear visuals, shared purpose, and a peek into the engine room of discovery. Time to bring that energy back to my own work.

Group photo with labmates (left to right): Dr. Wenli & Urvashi