The primary purpose of the travel was to attend the "Gene and genome duplications and the evolution of novel gene functions. Conference which was held in Aussios, France from the 25/4/2001 to the 30/4/2001. The conference was attended mainly by scientists based in America and Europe, consisting of no more than 150 attendants. The conference allowed me to present my work, in the form of a poster presentation, and to discuss both the work that I have completed and that which I am still planning to undertake as part of my PhD project. I found the chance of discussing my work and ideas with members of the wider scientific community a very worthwhile opportunity.