3141 Chestnut Street • Randell Hall, Suite 235 • Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 • TEL 215.895.6372 • FAX 215.895.2142 • www.drexel.edu/international
NeilT.Sullivan
GraduateStudent
DrexelCollegeofMedicine-DepartmentofMicrobiologyand
Immunology
TheSocietyonNeuroImmunePharmacology(SNIP)
From April 5-9, 2016 my laboratory and I attended the 22nd annual
meeting for the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP) in
Krakow,Poland.Whilethisisaninternationalsociety,itwasthefirst
timeIattendedoneoftheirinternationalconferences.Auniqueaspect
aboutattendinganinternationalconferenceishavingtheopportunity
to explore a new culture as well as experiencing science that you would not normally be able to
experience. For example, the SNIP conferences historically have numerous sessions focusing on the
science behind understanding neurological impairment, especially in the context of the neurological
impactofdrugsofabuseinhumanimmunodeficiencyvirustype1(HIV-1)-infectedindividuals;however,
this year had a wider spectrum of neurological diseases and methods to treat/diagnose them.
Additionally, there was a session to specially highlight the local Polish scientists from the Institute of
Pharmacology,PolishAcademyofScienceResearch.Thisallowedforamoreholisticviewofthesociety
and presented with new networking opportunities for postdoctoral positions and research
collaborations. The project I presented was displayed during the poster session titled “Clinical and
functional characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the HIV-1 long terminal
repeat(LTR)COUPbindingsiteassociatewithincreaseviruspersistenceintheDrexelMedicineCARES
Cohort”.Whilepresentingthisdataduringthepostersession,Iwasabletogainnewinsightsintofuture
avenuesofresearchduetotheinterdisciplinarynatureofthissocietyandresearchersattending.
Besidestheexcellentsciencepresented,thelocalSNIPorganizinggrouparrangedourawardsbanquet
at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Until recently, this was one of Poland’s largest and oldest salt mines. The
minehasintricatelycarvedchapels,banquethalls,andstatuescarvedbytheminersthemselves.During
thebanquets,localperformersgotmanyofthescientiststobreakoutoftheirshellandsinganddance
withthemonstage.Thetripwascompletewithatraditionalstyle,threecoursePolishdinnerandthe
keynoteaddress.BelowisapictureofmylabattheWieliczkaSaltMine.