‘Twas the night before BPS2026,
when all through the lab,
Not a single labware was stirring, not even a flask.
The lab coats were hung by the cell culture hoods with care,
In hopes that BPS2026 soon would be there*…
Howdy, from Texas! Similar to this poem, I too am looking forward to attending BPS2026. In just a few short hours, BPS will kick off the first day of events including the opening mixer and first-time attendee networking event.
Badge pick-up begins on Friday (02/20/2026) at 3pm-5pm and continues on Saturday 7:30AM-6:30PM and Sunday-Tuesday 7:30AM-5:00PM. Be sure to download the BPS app which provides detailed information on all the conference sessions at your fingertips. The app lets you to plan your days by adding talks and events directly to your calendar.
Before I dive further, let me introduce myself. I am Akanksha Gurtu, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Fernanda Laezza at the University of Texas Medical Branch. We study protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) and I am particularly interested in the structural characterization of the PPI with Nav1.6. If you are interested in hearing more about my project, I will be presenting on Monday (02/23/2026) Poster Board #B311.
This will be my third year attending the BPS Annual Meeting and my first time in San Francisco. The last two meetings took place in Los Angeles, California (2025), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2024). Fun fact— my past two Valentine’s Days were spent traveling to or from the Annual Meeting! It became a little tradition of mine, so I am a bit disappointed that this year’s meeting falls on the week after Valentine’s Day.
To make my blog interactive, I have included a short poll at the end. I am curious to know how many attendees are first-timers, second-timers, third-timers, or long-time participants. Also, where is everyone traveling from—within California (or already in San Francisco), across the U.S., or internationally? Please take a moment to fill out the poll; the results will be revealed on Sunday!
POLL LINK:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAHBtd0YwBQ/q5GlqXfzVJV2jMNZoSO6Zw/view?utm_content=DAHBtd0YwBQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h92ce822a6d
*Loosely inspired by “A Visit from St. Nicholas” poem by Clement-Clarke Moore