Conference recognition

Two Centenary Institute researchers have given presentations on platelets (tiny blood cells that form clots to stop bleeding) at the recent ‘International Society for Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH)’ conference in Melbourne, with Centenary PhD student Aster Pijning also receiving an ISTH student travel award for the event.

Centenary Senior Research Officer, Dr Angelina Lay gave a presentation titled, ‘Platelet deficiency of ERp5 is compensated for by up-regulation of other thiol isomerases’.

“The conference provided a great opportunity to interact with thrombosis and haemostasis researchers and to share our findings. The quantity and quality of research packed into the five days was just phenomenal. One of the most rewarding experiences for me was knowing that our work was being shared with all of these great scientists, contributing towards a better understanding of diseases and discovering more effective treatments. We were a little piece helping to solve a giant, complex puzzle, and every little piece counts.” says Angelina.

Centenary PhD student Aster Pijning’s presentation was titled, ‘The identification of an allosteric disulfide bond in the alphaIIb subunit of the platelet integrin alphaIIb beta3′.

“The conference was amazing, mostly because of the quality of the work being presented and the opportunity to meet great researchers in our field. I also found it very motivating to hear other people excited about our work. I came back filled with renewed energy and ideas,” says Aster.