Presenting my two research posters at the 2025 International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology Conference in New Orleans
Author: Samantha Stark | Major: Chemistry, Biology | Semester: Fall 2025
My name is Samantha Stark, and I am double majoring in Biology and Chemistry with a minor in Psychology at the University of Arkansas. My research focuses on how stress and depression affect reward learning in the brain. In my work, I use fMRI and a learning task under stress to study the striatum, a brain region central to decision-making and motivation.
In September 2025, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was honored to present not one, but two research posters based on work I’ve been developing in the Arkansas’s Stress, Cognition, and Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Arkansas with Dr. Grant Shields. At this conference, I was able to share my findings and learn from researchers from around the world. The conference gave me the opportunity to see how scientists structure studies, learn from and bounce ideas off one another, and build on each other’s work. When I sat at symposia or walked around the poster session, I realized how collaborative research is and how exactly conferences aid the progress of research.
For me, presenting my posters was both intimidating and exciting. I was very nervous, since most attendees were established researchers, but I was surprised by how kind everyone was. I had many meaningful conversations with experts, including one with an assistant professor at Yale who suggested focusing on anhedonia specifically instead of major depressive disorder to gain more insight into my results. I would never have thought about that on my own, and it both gave me firsthand experience seeing how collaboration guides research and showed me how poster sessions are less about defending yourself and more about sharing ideas.
One of the most valuable parts of the conference, beyond feedback, was meeting people. I spoke with researchers from Austria, Germany, Australia, China, and across the U.S., and hearing about their work made me realize how global of an effort there is toward the cause of understanding the human mind. Even though I was one of the only undergraduates there, I felt welcomed into that community. By the end of my poster session, I realized I’d gained immense confidence in explaining my project clearly to people from different backgrounds, which is also a skill I will continue to carry with me after this trip.
If I had advice for another student attending a research conference, especially one dominated by experts, it would be to not feel intimidated. People at conferences are there because they care about advancing science, and they are usually happy to ask questions and encourage you. The experience is as much about learning from others as it is presenting your work.
Looking ahead, I will continue analyzing data for my honors thesis, and I am hopeful to carry the skills I learned from this conference to my defense. Longer term, I’ll apply these experiences as I enter medical school, where I hope to continue participating in research and advancing clinical care. Overall, attending ISPNE allowed me to meet many amazing people and gain the confidence to present my research to others.