<p>Hi all, I thought this might be of general interest. I recently attended a conference and met a number of people in my field. I sent a slew of emails following up on conversations and expressing gratitude for insight. I didn't receive anything back, even from the guy who told my PI he wants to collaborate on my project. What are other people's experiences like in this situation? Are there better ways to contact people after this sort of meeting eg. email via my PI, contact through grad student in the person's lab, resending the same emails over and over til I get a response? Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I would go through grad students or postdocs whenever possible, because I see how overwhelmed with email my own PI is. If you email another trainee, the email is less likely to be lost in the shuffle.</p>
<p>My general procedure for contacting PIs when necessary (for mice, antibodies, etc.; presumably collaborations) is to draft an email for my PI and have him send it. He cc’s me and introduces me in the email, then I contact the PI afterward. People recognize my PI’s name and respond to his emails when they wouldn’t recognize or respond to mine.</p>