15 Neuroscientists Share Their Memories of BNA2025
The BNA International Festival of Neuroscience 2025 may be over, but we’re all returning home with some wonderful memories from yet another great science event! The British Neuroscience Association’s biennial festival is one of the largest neuroscience conferences in Europe, and this year’s event was held in the historic city of Liverpool, UK. Researchers from around the world gathered for the four-day meeting to enjoy workshops, symposia, careers advice, poster presentations, public engagement events, and more.
Hello Bio were in attendance in the exhibition hall where we were lucky enough to meet lots of fantastic scientists and learn more about their research. Daria Dolecka, our Senior Customer Service Executive, was on hand to answer questions and advise on our wide range of biochemicals, antibodies and reagents. She also gave away goodies and prizes including the famous Hello Bio bears and a GiantMicrobes plush brain!
On the final day of the festival, Daria asked attendees to share their best memory from the event, and we’re pleased to share some of those with you here…
Tell us about your favourite memory from BNA 2025…
Meeting new people and making connections
One of the most valuable aspects of any science conference is the opportunity to meet like-minded researchers working in the same field. Networking is crucial for STEM career development and for creating connections for potential collaboration. At BNA2025 there were plenty of opportunities to meet and chat with others, and the importance of this was clear in these memories shared with us…
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“Meeting amazing and smart people!” - researcher from the University of Edinburgh
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“Meeting other people with the same research interests” - researcher from the University of Manchester
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“Collaboration opportunities” - researcher from the University of Nottingham
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“Meeting so many inspiring neuroscientists and hearing about their incredible research!” - researcher from the University of Nottingham
Daria agreed that her favourite memory was also “meeting lots of inspiring researchers!” - and also the Halcyon Syncopators jazz band who performed on the opening day of the event!
Pictured: (l-r) Daria Dolecka at the Hello Bio exhibition stand and the Halcyon Syncopators band performing at BNA2025
Expanding your knowledge
Events like BNA2025 also offer the opportunity to learn about research topics beyond your own area of specialism. The programme of talks, symposia and workshops this year saw neuroscientists share their expertise on a wide range of subjects including neurodegenerative diseases, neuroprosthetics, electrophysiology, epilepsy, cancer research, 3D brain imaging, schizophrenia, cognitive computational neuroscience, chronic pain therapies, mental health, neural tissue engineering, and much more.
We picked out a few of our own highlights in this preview article: What to see and do at the BNA2025 Festival of Neuroscience.
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“Getting to explore different areas of research!” - researcher from the University of Edinburgh
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“Learning a lot about new research areas!” - researcher from the University of Manchester
Dr Valentina Mosienko, a Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Bristol appreciated the opportunity to have “fruitful discussions” following her talk on antidepressant mechanisms, which focused on astrocyte metabolism and the effects of common antidepressants such as specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors and rapid acting antidepressants like ketamine on astrocytes.
Popular poster presentations
One of the busiest areas of BNA2025 was the poster hall, where researchers presented their latest findings and took questions from interested attendees. From our exhibition booth we had a great view of many of the fantastic posters!
Having the opportunity to present your work in this way is vital for researchers not only to gain valuable science communication experience, but also to connect with and gain feedback from colleagues, peers and potential collaborators.
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“Presenting my poster to the amazing people at the BNA” - Meg Watt of the University of Edinburgh
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“Checking out all the early research posters!” - Jake Hyland of the University of Liverpool
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“Getting new ideas and feedback on my poster!” - Elizabeth Simzer of the University of Edinburgh
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“Presenting my poster and meeting lots of interesting people.” - researcher from the University of Oxford
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“People showing a genuine interest in my research.” - research from the University of Manchester
Taking pride in your work and celebrating success
The event was also a great celebration of the amazing work that goes on in labs around the world every day. Neuroscience research is crucial for the development and advancement of medical science and the creation of new therapies. Getting together to applaud these extraordinary achievements is another important part of events like this one.
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“Seeing the amazing progress and growth of lab and other colleagues.” - researcher from the University of Liverpool
Another attendee with cause to celebrate was Ayesha Mohamed Sherief, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham who was the winner of our prize draw and took home the plush brain, a Hello Bio goodie bag and some delicious Lindt chocolates!
Pictured: (right) Daria Dolecka presents our grand draw winner Ayesha Mohamed Sherief with her prizes.
A big thank you!
Finally, a big thank you to all the attendees who visited our stand and chatted with Daria. The free chocolates were certainly appreciated by Aleksandra Pokrovskaya of the University of Edinburgh who enjoyed the afternoon energy boost!
Daria said: “Thank you to every single person who stopped by the Hello Bio booth - it was such a pleasure meeting you all! I had so many interesting conversations and met so many fantastic people. For 4 days, I was able to observe researchers being passionate about what they do and eager to learn and accomplish more. If that’s not inspiring, then I don't know what is!”
See you all again at the next BNA Festival in Belfast in 2027!
Preparing for science conferences
If you're attending or speaking at your first science conference this year, we've got some great tips to help you make sure it all goes smoothly! Take a look at these other great resources on the Hello Bio blog:
- Tips for Oral Presentations at Scientific Meetings and Conferences
- Tips for Poster Presentations at Scientific Meetings and Conferences
- The Life Scientists’ Guide to Presenting at Conferences
- Conference Checklist: 10 Must-Dos at Science Conferences
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