Steve from Spain II

A quick post now while I'm in an internet cafe. Just to update everyone... I'm attending a virology meeting in Spain, and I have a presentation tomorrow (Wednesday). The meeting is in Cordoba. We had to fly into Madrid, then take a 2 hour train ride on the fast train (~200 mph) to Cordoba. The meeting is in an old palace that is converted to handle scientific (and other) meetings. It is right next to the Mezquita Cathedral. We got to tour the Cathedral today... it was built in the 700s as a mosque, then went back and forth between a muslim and christian place of worship over the centuries. The architecture is amazing, and it is very unique to see the mixture of muslim and christian architecture. I took lots of pictures that I hope to post later. Google "Mezquita and Cordoba" and you'll get to see what it is. My hotel is across the street from it.

The meeting organizers are really proud of their city, and they've been trying to show it off. Monday we went to an old castle and the city mayor spoke to us. Then we had tapas and wine in the castle courtyard from ~10-midnight. We kept saying, "I can't believe we're in a castle in Spain drinking wine." Then yesterday I ate at a restaurant that Tony Blair has been to. At my table was a Scot, a German, a Dutch, a Greek, and a Swiss. Very cool. And the PI knew Ellen, my PhD advisor at Vanderbilt.

I'll be presenting my research tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be well received, but it is near the end of the meeting so I don't know how much feedback it will get. In a nutshell, I'll be talking about modifying a virus to deliver a therapeutic gene to the spine. We're hoping to develop this into a treatment for Lou Gerhig's disease.

This picture is from the dinner in the castle courtyard: