Montpellier is a beautiful city located in the south of France, situated only 10km away from the Mediterranean Sea. The city offers a rich blend of over a thousand years of history and culture, as well as modern charm. Montpellier is home to stunning medieval architecture and lively markets, and during the week of the 14th of October 2024, Montpellier became the home to the 23rd European Society of Vector Ecology (ESOVE) conference – its second hosting of the conference within 12 years. With a packed four-day schedule that included four keynote speakers, seven thematic sessions and almost 200 posters, the ESOVE conference covered a wide range of interesting topics relating to vector ecology.
Since, being a 2nd year PhD student, this was my first international conference, I was very unsure of what to expect. Arriving in torrential rain to rival Glasgow’s helped me feel immediately at home, and my nerves were soon calmed by the friendly and welcoming nature of the city. This sentiment was reflected in the opening addresses from the conference organising team as they stated the importance of working together to form a One Health approach under the challenges of global change. Our first keynote speaker, Cindy Morris, took the stage shortly after, where she delivered a fascinating talk on the often-overlooked topic of plant health and its importance for One Health. This set the stage for the first oral presentation session on integrative taxonomy and evolution. As a biologist who prefers to be in the field rather than the lab, a genomics-heavy session like this on a Monday morning would normally make my head hurt. However, the talks on genetics maintained my interest throughout the whole session, thanks to the engaging speakers and presentations that covered a wide range of different vector species.
After this fantastic start, the second session on vector ecology and biology took me to more familiar territory. Nine speakers presented fascinating research on key vectors like midges, mosquitoes and ticks and how their interactions with the environment are shaping future disease risks. Following this was the first of two formal poster sessions, where I carefully observed the crowd-attracting strategies of the post-doc next to me, ready imitate his methods the following day. A welcome cocktail brought the first day to a relaxed end, offering another chance to mingle and make new connections over delicious Mediterranean food and wine. The next couple of days followed a similar format, with a morning keynote followed by two sessions of oral presentations. A highlight for me was a keynote on the final day from the University of Glasgow’s and Ifakara Health Institute’s own Fredros Okumu. Fredros is an excellent science communicator and delivered an amazing talk on the ecology of key African malaria vectors, emphasising the importance of continuing to innovate new strategies for vector control. This then set the stage nicely for the final session, which focused on community-based surveillance and management of vector-borne diseases.
The range of amazing talks across the four days had one major competitor: the range of amazing food. Every day offered opportunities to samples the delights of French cuisine. The culinary journey began during the first interlude between the morning sessions, which provided the first opportunity to refuel and socialise. Coffee, tea and fresh pastries were available in abundance in the poster hall, with the refreshment stations playing a key supporting role in my networking strategy. Lunch was a particularly enjoyable period; an hour of seemingly infinite delicious hors d’oeuvres (including some unusual but quintessentially French dishes like goats cheese macarons and foie gras crème brûlée), a massive cheeseboard, and a selection of delectable desserts
The highlight of the culinary experience was the conference dinner on Wednesday, which took place at the Abbey of Valmagne, around 40km away from Montpellier. Prior to the dinner, we were able to participate in a choice of activities such as a tour of the abbey, walks around the medieval gardens, or the universal favourite, a wine workshop, where participants could try their hand at being a sommelier. The conference dinner took place in a large banquet hall, where delegates were provided with a delicious three-course meal and plenty of opportunity to mingle, dance and form new networking connections.
Despite the size and scope of ESOVE, the relaxed atmosphere and the friendliness of the other delegates meant that my first international conference experience was enjoyable rather than overwhelming. Between the incredible research, the networking opportunities and the amazing food, my expectations for conferences have been set very high. I left ESOVE on Thursday afternoon with social media filled with new connections, a head filled with new knowledge and a belly filled with exquisite food.
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This article was written by Meshach Lee, a 2nd year PhD student at the University of Glasgow studying the ecology of mosquito vectors in Scotland with the Mosquito Scotland project.
Edited by Dr Georgia Kirby.
