Taking part in the Young Researchers Symposium: ‘I can recommend this experience to anyone’

At this year's Young Researchers Symposium (YRS), young scientists will once again have the opportunity to present their research topic to an audience - for the most part - from outside their field. The aim is to generate enthusiasm for their own specialism in an exciting, entertaining and generally understandable way. Chemistry doctoral student Annika Maria Pick, runner-up in the Best Talk category in 2022, reports on why the experience she gained there will also be useful for her future career.

What do former American football player Steve Gleason and a bucket of ice water have in common? Annika Maria Pick began her presentation at the Young Researchers Symposium in summer 2022 with this question, a kind of speech competition in which she was allowed to present the content of her doctoral thesis in a way that was easy to understand. ‘It was important to me to arouse the interest of the audience right from the start,’ she explains looking back. And she also wanted to address the topic of health, ‘something that everyone can identify with.’ Because: ‘Steve Gleason suffers from the nerve disease ALS. In the Ice Bucket Challenge, celebrities doused themselves with ice water to raise awareness of this disease.’

Developing the basis for medical research as a chemistry doctoral student

In order to better understand neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, epilepsy and ALS in the future, new ways of analysing them are needed. Methods that help to visualise processes in the body. This is exactly where Annika Maria Pick's doctorate, which she started in 2021, comes in: ‘In my work, I'm focussing on zinc. In contrast to other trace elements, such as iron, we don't yet know quite as much about its effect in the body. This is mainly due to the fact that there are only a few ways to observe zinc in the body.’ So where and how is it distributed - and in what quantities? It is already known that zinc is important for learning and memory functions, ‘i.e. for our brain and central nervous system’ - and therefore probably also plays a role in the development of neurodegeneration.

The specific aim of her doctoral thesis is to use chemical methods to develop certain substances that bind to zinc in order to make it recognisable. ‘You can think of it like a light bulb. When zinc docks onto this light bulb, it starts to glow.’ Building on this, the trace element could then also be observed in the body at some point: ‘Researchers in biology and later medicine could, for example, look at the differences in zinc levels between healthy nerve cells and diseased cells.’ What is the biggest challenge in your research project? ‘In theory, you think about how the molecules should work and draw suitable structures on a sheet of paper. Later, you have to show in an experiment that it really works that way. And that's not always easy.’

“The atmosphere on site was very relaxed. Everyone approached each other in a very benevolent and relaxed manner”

But back to the Young Researchers Symposium: every two years, the TU-Nachwuchsring and the Center for Simulation and Software-based Innovation organize this interdisciplinary competition, which is aimed specifically at young researchers. The most exciting presentations and the best posters are selected. Why did Annika Maria Pick take part? “I just felt like it. I wanted to try out what it was like to give a lecture in front of an audience from outside my field.” She applied, was accepted, prepared her presentation - which, incidentally, was given in English - and rehearsed it in front of her working group. “When the big day arrived, I was incredibly excited because I had never given a presentation in front of so many people before.” But the excitement soon subsided: “The atmosphere on site was very relaxed. Everyone was very friendly and relaxed towards each other."

As one of a total of fourteen speakers, Annika Maria Pick also tried to engage the audience visually with graphics and simple explanations. “You sometimes make a joke at one point or another.” In general, the participants approached the topic much more openly and freely than is usually the case with specialist lectures. Annika Maria Pick gave her presentation in the morning - and was then able to relax and listen to the other speakers - and look at the posters on various scientific projects on display: “It was interesting to see how diverse the research at RPTU is. I wasn't aware of that before.”

“Later in your career, you have to be able to explain research in a simple and exciting way”

Almost two years have passed since then. Annika Maria Pick hopes to complete the experiments for her doctoral thesis at the end of the year. The defense of her thesis is probably scheduled for spring 2025. What conclusions can she draw from her doctorate? “I feel very well looked after by my supervisor, Professor Sabine Becker, and my working group. We talk to each other a lot and also do things together in our private lives.” Originally from the Eifel region, the 27-year-old made a conscious decision to study in Kaiserslautern at the start of her degree, as she reports: “I really liked the campus and the proximity to nature at the student information day. Everything felt immediately familiar.”

Annika Maria Pick took second place in the Best Talk category at the YRS. What does she take away? “I now approach presentations in a much more relaxed and confident way.” And by the way - the ability to explain things in a simple yet exciting way is also important for her future career, as she adds: “I want to stay in research, perhaps in a managerial position, for example in the pharmaceutical industry. It's important to be able to promote your project in research proposals. Or to be able to arouse the interest of cooperation partners.”

And today, with a certain distance - what would she recommend to future YRS participants? “Have the courage to try things out. Take the opportunity to think outside the box. The whole day and everything around it is incredibly exciting. I can only recommend this experience to everyone.”