From Poster Presenter to Symposium Organizer: Our Journey at Göttingen Meeting 2025
Nataliia Fedorchenko and Alexey Chervonnyy are both pursuing their PhDs in the field of neuroscience at C. & O. Vogt-Institut für Hirnforschung at Düsseldorf University, Nataliia also as guest researcher at the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine – Structural and Functional Organization of the Brain (INM-1) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Alongside their scientific research, the two young scientists explored a new aspect of academic life: for the first time, they organized a symposium as part of a scientific conference. Under the guidance of Prof. Katrin Amunts, Director of INM-1, they successfully took on this challenge. In this blog post, they reflect on the obstacles they faced, their favorite moments, and the valuable rewards they gained. Their message to fellow PhD students is clear: go for it!
Visiting a scientific conference as a PhD student – presenting a poster, joining discussions, and learning from leading researchers - feels already like an achievement. But organizing a full symposium as early-career researchers? That was something we never imagined ourselves doing. Over a year ago, we were encouraged by our colleague Felix Ströckens, and by the high trust and support of our supervisor Prof. Katrin Amunts we accept that challenge. Together, we started organizing a symposium as part of the 16th Göttingen Meeting of the German Neuroscience Society (NWG), which took place from March 26-29, 2025.
Our session, “Multilevel Human Brain Mapping and Atlas as a Tool Connecting Micro and Macrostructures”, brought together 70–80 participants. We were honoured to feature inspiring keynote talks: Prof. Katrin Amunts discussed the evolution of brain mapping and the role of the Julich Brain Atlas in studying structure-function relationships. Prof. Timo Dickscheid introduced the Siibra tool suite and its capabilities for integrating multimodal brain data, and Prof. Tim Salditt shared advances in 3D virtual histology using synchrotron-based X-ray tomography. We were also proud to present our own research: Alexey shared findings on high-resolution 3D mapping of the human hypothalamus and its subdivisions, and Nataliia followed with her insightful presentation on the cytoarchitectonic delineation of Broca’s region, highlighting new subdivisions in areas 44 and 45. Carla Hogrebe, our fellow PhD student, was also at the Göttingen Meeting 2025. She presented her cytoarchitectonic mapping of the human temporal pole during the poster sessions just the day before our symposium. She and Felix were there to support us – having familiar faces in the audience was comforting.
One of our favourite moments? That special moment when active discussion continued long after the official session ended, with participants approaching speakers to exchange ideas and explore collaboration opportunities. We received a lot of positive feedback and even one suggestion to join the annual science festival Pint of Science – which we had seriously considered. The warm spring weather in Göttingen made the conference enjoyable, with evening walks through the historic city providing a relaxing break after busy days of scientific exchange and networking. Organizing a symposium was challenging, yes – but deeply rewarding. We’re incredibly grateful for the support of our colleagues at the Cécile & Oskar Vogt Institute of Brain Research Düsseldorf and INM-1 at Research Centre Jülich, and for everyone who helped bring this to life.
We left Göttingen with a sense of satisfaction and inspiration, grateful for the opportunity to contribute to and learn from such a vibrant scientific community. To fellow PhD students considering taking a similar step: DO IT! You’re more ready than you think.
Nataliia & Alexey
Authors: Nataliia Fedorchenko - PhD fellow of the Max Planck School of Cognition and Alexey Chervonnyy, PhD fellow of the Hector Fellow Academy