My name is Alexandra Khlyustova and I am a 4th-year Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering working for Assistant Professor Rong Yang. I am delighted to be one of the recipients of the Lisa Walker Travel Grant, which allowed me to present my research on antifouling and antimicrobial coatings to experts in my field at the Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting 2022 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Specifically, I presented two oral talks titled “Design of Antifouling Amphiphilic Interfaces with Molecular Heterogeneities to Control Biofilm Formation and Bacterial Behavior” and “Immobilization of Lysozyme on Zwitterionic Poly(4-vinylpyridine) Thin Films Enables Antifouling and Antibacterial Surfaces”. Presenting these two oral talks at my first international conference is a big milestone for my research career. As part of this conference, I was able to meet researchers in my field, get feedback on my projects, refine the goals for my research, learn more about different research techniques, and plan my future experiments. Moreover, I was able to network with professors and students from all over the world by attending oral and poster sessions relevant to my research. Specifically, I enjoyed the sessions titled “Nano-, Micro-Structured Surfaces and Coatings”, “Thin-Film Processing, Characterization, and Properties”, “Material Design and Synthesis”, and others. In addition, attending the MRS Spring meeting allowed me to get advice from researchers, professors, and postdocs to help advance my future career as I am getting close to my graduation and starting to explore postdoc options. I am thankful to you and the Lisa Walker Travel Award committee for enabling me to travel to Hawaii and attend MRS Spring Meeting not only to advance my career but also to help me develop professional & networking skills.