aerial view of Western's campus at night facing northwest, with golden lights surrounded by dark trees

WWU’s biochemical research erupts at the annual Volcano Conference

Undergraduate biochemistry students attend the annual three-day conference near Mount Rainier

by Allie Van Parys

University Communications intern

Students pose on a hike in the Pack Forest during downtime at the Volcano Conference (Photo courtesy of John Antos).
Emperial West, a student who attended the Volcano Conference, poses next to a poster of her research that she shared with conference members (Photo courtesy of John Antos).

Twenty-two undergraduate biochemistry students from Western Washington University attended the Volcano Conference, Feb. 20 to 22.  

The Volcano Conference is a regional chemical biology event which brings in students and faculty from Western, University of Washington, Portland State University, Oregon State University, University of British Columbia and others, said John Antos, a professor of chemistry at Western who attended the event. The conference is held annually during the last week of February in the Pack Forest, a “living laboratory” just outside of Mount Rainier managed by the University of Washington’s Center for Sustainable Energy.

The conference began in 1991 and was founded by Michael Gelb, a professor at the University of Washington, and Steve Withers, a professor at the University of British Columbia. It focuses on discussing advancements in biochemical research in the Pacific Northwest.  

“I appreciate the interactive and casual nature of the conference,” Antos said. “Students and faculty are meant to make connections and share advice and ideas.

Jackson Tucker and Aspen Carter pose with their poster showcasing their research at the Volcano Conference (Photo courtesy of John Antos).

Antos noted that the Volcano Conference is the first scientific conference experience for many Western biochemistry students.  

“As a faculty member, one of the highlights of the Volcano Conference is seeing former WWU students that have gone on to graduate programs come back to the conference to share their graduate research,” Antos said.

P. Clint Spiegel, a professor of biochemistry at Western who also attended the event, started going to the Volcano Conference when he was a graduate student at the University of Washington. Western students that are selected to go are in his, Antos’ or other biochemistry professors’ undergraduate research labs.  

The Volcano Conference began Friday night with a poster session, where many students attending presented their research.  

“The [poster session] room is very small, very hot, there are lots of people,” said Kira Bailey, a third-year biochemistry student at Western. “But even as overwhelming as it is, it’s nice for me to think about how this room is full of science.” 

Glenn Thomas and Kira Bailey share their research at the Volcano Conference’s poster session (Photo courtesy of John Antos).

This year was Bailey’s second time attending the Volcano Conference. The first time she went, she became friends with a student from the University of British Columbia. This year, the two of them were able to reconnect and discuss how they had furthered their research from the previous year.  

Bailey is researching a strain of yeast that has a specific mutation that does DNA repair with significantly more success than strains without the mutation. She was able to present a poster about this research at the conference both years that she attended.  

Bailey had also attended a scientific conference put on by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which she mentioned was much more formal in comparison.

“Everybody who attends [the Volcano Conference] is just there to have fun and talk about research at the same time,” Bailey said.  

Noah Cox-Tigre smiles with a poster they presented at the Volcano Conference, showcasing their research (Photo courtesy of John Antos).

The second day of the conference, Saturday, began with presentations in the morning and then a few hours of downtime after lunch. Many students each year go hiking around Pack Forest, and some even drive to Mount Rainier to go snowshoeing or backcountry skiing, Spiegel said. 

“This was the first year I actually made it to the waterfall on one of the hikes,” Spiegel said. “It was really pretty.”  

After dinner on Saturday, there were more research talks and a bonfire that began at 10 p.m. Each year features a world-class keynote speaker. Students and faculty returned to Bellingham on Sunday.  

“The feedback from students is always ‘Wow, that was really fun. It’s cool to see how scientists talk and how scientific meetings go,’” Spiegel said. “They usually come back, sort of invigorated to contribute themselves to a project because they can see what the end result looks like.” 

Sierra Cullati, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Western, along with students who attended the Volcano Conference smile next to a waterfall they found on a hike while exploring Pack Forest (Photo courtesy of John Antos).

Allie Van Parys is an intern with the Office of University Communications. She is majoring in Journalism-Public Relations and minoring in English and Communication Studies.