Oct 22, 2024

We went to Tällberg! (a while back)

In June Lena, Kelly, Nic and Ylva from our group attended the Sweprot conference in Tällberg. Lena is “gammal i gemet” and has been there many times, but it was Kelly’s second time, and the others’ first. We took the car there and since it is a couple of hours’ drive it was a true road trip feeling, with music and chit chats.

Sweprot is well liked in our group – the Tällberg coziness is hard to beat, the food and company great. We all presented posters and listened to many presentations. Here are some thoughts and memorable moments from everyone…

Lena: I really like this conference; it is a great opportunity to meet the scientists in the protein society in Sweden. Since it is a quite “small” conference, it makes it easier to talk to other scientists, which I really like. The food is also great, and the location is so pretty. This is honestly my favorite conference to go to! However, it is a very intense (long) weekend, so even though it is interesting, it can take a bit of energy.

The thing I liked the most was meeting people from my old group, and all the other people I met in previous years. I really enjoy getting to know what they have been up to since the previous conference!

Kelly: ⁠Meeting new people at the conference is always a delight. Sharing our research topics always gives me new insights and a fresh perspective. ⁠Making the conference poster was a real pain, but showcasing it totally made up for it with all the excitement and joy it brought. Shoutout to Nic and Ylva, our road trip heroes. They drove us all the way to the conference and back—true MVPs! Quiz night fun! Despite barely recognizing any of the songs, we still had a blast playing the guessing game.

Swings can be dangerous. Ylva and Nic pushed our swing to the limit, and I’m pretty sure my screams scared off the local wildlife.

Scientists can really sing. We didn’t join the karaoke night, but we enjoyed the late-night serenades while hanging out outside. Still obsessed with the hotel’s liquid soap (Maria Åkerberg). It smells just as heavenly this year as it did last year! ⁠The midnight lake swim tradition was broken. Lena usually braves the cold, but the rain kept us cozy indoors this time. Sorry, Lena! Nic and Ylva introduced me to nightcore music during our road trip. Surprisingly, it wasn’t half bad! ⁠Coconut Hen madness. For a moment, we weren’t boys or girls—we were all coconut hens!

Nic: Sure, the schedule was packed tighter than furniture parts in a box from Ikea, but the stunning location and amazing food more than made up for it! Honestly, this might be the first conference I’ve attended that doubled as a mini-vacation—interesting scientific talks by day, relaxation by night. The intimate size made it easy to meet other scientists in the same field, and I look forward to signing up for next year’s ‘science-and-chill’ retreat.

Ylva: Being a fresh PhD student (I hadn’t even started yet!) in this group, this was my first conference and a positive experience. I loved seeing the many different posters, and talking to so many different people all in the same community yet working on so many different things. It really is a big – and small – world. Presenting my own poster was also surprisingly fun! I had great fun teaching Kelly how to use a swing properly, and work with Nic and Lena to play the best Nightcore and old classics for the perfect road trip soundtrack. I think my biggest joy was the setting of the conference. I’m fond of Dalarna and it was awesome getting a chance to see Tällberg.