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Back from a Conference! Conservation Genomics at the Population Level
The first conference you attend as an academic will I think invariably, be a memorable one. I’m jotting this monologue in the hopes that when I am finally met with that dreaded existential crisis that seems to afflict every academic at some point of their career, I can come to this and remember that the best things about being an academic are very simple.
A mid-November wintry morning, I board a train from Oxford to Cambridge and after spending a good chunk of the day working out public transport in Cambridge, I arrived at the Welcome genome campus, home, among other things, to the Human Genome Project that kicked off the genomics age. The conference titled “Conservation Genomics at the Population Level” sought to bring together scientists from across the world who are deploying the arsenal of genomic tools to conserving the worlds most threatened taxa, and that it did. As a mark of global connectedness, the only 2 keynote speeches given at the conference were given by first, an outstanding Australian genomicist, Carolyn Hogg, who used genomics to rescue small and isolated populations of the Tasmanian devils that were on the brink of extinction just 10 years ago. The second, from Brazil and also a long-time hero of mine, Eduardo Ezirik, who has led the charge on wild carnivore genomics in South America. Both representing very different biomes, cultures and geographies.
The conference spanned three days, and surfaced some of the most pressing issues around the use of genomics to answer questions conservation concern. How much DNA variation is needed to keep harmful alleles at bay? How to make comparative population genetic metrics between species? What does a meaningful marker set look like? Can cloned animals be re-introduced in the wild? Can CRISPR technology be used to replace harmful cancerous genes in a population, or reproductively sterilise ecologically invasive species? These questions were confronted with as much data as was available, and presenters had the golden opportunity to pick the brains of the fields leading thinkers as they collectively pushed the needle forward.
For a young academic like myself however, it was the in-between sessions that made the most impact to me. The random opportunity to speak to the worlds leading ancient DNA thinker as we picked up our favourite cookie from a platter, or catching up with collaborators who have guided my thinking from the very start over a cup of coffee, or having “mutational load” explained to me with magnificent precision after far too many beers for a Wednesday night. My favourite takeaway however, is that now as I scan through papers and see Koepfli et al., Shapiro et al., Ezirik et al., or Armstrong et al., I will smile and remember the rolling laughter I shared with Klaus, Beth, Erik and Ellie as we shared a pint.
