Young Croatian Scientists Bring 200 Colleagues to Dubrovnik
Four returning researchers, recipients of prestigious EMBO and ERC grants, organize an international forum for young scientists held for the first time in Croatia.
Four returning researchers, recipients of prestigious EMBO and ERC grants, organize an international forum for young scientists held for the first time in Croatia.
Dubrovnik will become the hub of young European scientists at the end of October. From October 28 to 30, 2026, the city will host the EMBO Young Scientists' Forum, a gathering expected to bring together up to 200 doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career group leaders from across Europe, as reported by Hina.
Four young scientists from Croatian institutions-Marko Šestan, Jelena Bujan, Jelena Godrijan, and Damir Baranašić-are organizing the forum in Croatia. All have been awarded research grants by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), and this international scientific meeting, which is held in a different European country each year, will take place in Dubrovnik for the first time.
The four organizers come from diverse scientific fields, with their research spanning immunology, climate change, ocean biology, and genome evolution. What unites them is their experience working at foreign scientific institutions and the support they received from EMBO. Part of their education and professional journey was spent at prestigious institutions such as Imperial College London, the University of Oklahoma, the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and the Champalimaud Foundation in Portugal, as well as research centers in Panama and Switzerland.
Jelena Bujan and Marko Šestan have also secured projects from the European Research Council (ERC), whose grants are often regarded as the scientific equivalent of Oscars due to intense competition. Upon returning to Croatia, they established or advanced their own research teams, leveraging support from the prestigious EMBO and ERC programs. Their experience illustrates a key trend in Croatian science: young researchers with international experience are returning and developing their own research groups in the country.
The forum's program will be dedicated to some of the most exciting areas of modern biology and biomedicine, including computational genomics, the immune system, organism adaptation and global change, and protists and other unconventional model organisms. In addition to plenary and invited lectures, young scientists will present their findings through oral presentations and poster sessions.
The purpose of the meeting is not only to showcase scientific achievements but also to foster new collaborations and connect early-career researchers with more experienced colleagues and group leaders from various European countries. EMBO is one of Europe's most significant scientific organizations, bringing together over 2,100 leading researchers from Europe and around the world.
The Dubrovnik edition of the forum will be further elevated by its opening lecture. The conference will be opened by Academician Iva Tolić from the Ruđer Bošković Institute, a renowned scientist studying cell division mechanisms. Tolić has received two ERC grants, including an ERC Synergy Grant worth 10 million euros.
As part of that project, together with international partners, including researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she investigates the origins of chromosomal errors linked to cancer development. So, in October, Dubrovnik will host a new generation of European scientists, also providing an opportunity for networking, exchanging ideas, and forging collaborations that could shape their future careers.
