Larval Week

Co-hosts Kharis Schrage and Jane Weinstock introducing the 
Larval Biology Symposium in Woods Hole. 

When I walked into the auditorium, I immediately spotted a familiar face. Then another. Then another. The room was full of researchers I knew and admired. I could hardly decide who to greet first. 

Every good scientific conference feels like a family reunion, and the Larval Biology Symposium was the best reunion of them all. A Larval Biology Symposium had not been organized for four years. In fact, the society behind it had largely gone dormant, to the detriment of research collaborations worldwide. Two WHOI graduate students - including my former student, Kharis - decided to resurrect the conference, hosting the first reincarnation right here in Woods Hole. There was extreme enthusiasm across the marine research community, and this year's Larval Biology Symposium attracted about 100 researchers from across North America, Europe, and Asia. 

The scientific presentations were high-quality, and I was delighted that every single talk was relevant to my work. At most conferences, I end up zoning out for at least part of the time. A session on Arctic biology might have a modelling talk, a presentation on walruses, and then finally a presentation on larvae - only one of those is actually relevant to me. Or I'll end up running across the massive conference center, ducking in and out of sessions to hear talks I care about, feeling like a madwoman marathoner. The Larval Biology Symposium avoided both of those problems: every talk was about larvae, so I listened intently for hours on end. Longer than I thought my own attention span could last, actually. I was grateful for the opportunity to focus and catch up with the status of our field. 

By far the best part of the Larval Biology Symposium was the composition of the participants: all my friends were in town! Many of my lab mates from grad school showed up - women I hadn't seen since the pandemic. I took a long walk with a dear friend from my postdoc days. I hosted a dinner at my house. I gave out hundreds of hugs, and I was so glad to catch up on everyone's personal and professional developments. 

WHOI's chaplain, a wonderfully wise woman named Marney Rathbun, uses the term "life-affirming" to describe experiences that build a person up. If you walk away from an experience feeling energized, fulfilled, loved, invigorated, and grateful - that is a life-affirming experience. During the Larval Biology Symposium, I connected deeply with a community that shares my research passion. The experience was life-affirming.