The forum will bring together PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and young group leaders to exchange research findings, develop collaborations and connect with scientists from across Europe. Its programme will focus on computational genomics, the immune system, adaptation and global change, and protists and other unconventional model organisms.
The four Croatian organisers – Marko Šestan, Jelena Bujan, Jelena Godrijan and Damir Baranašić – conduct research ranging from immunology and climate change to ocean biology and genome evolution. Bujan and Šestan are also recipients of European Research Council (ERC) grants.
All four spent part of their education and careers at international institutions before returning to Croatia, where they established or developed their own research groups with support from EMBO and ERC programmes.
EMBO, one of Europe's leading scientific organisations, supports young researchers through grants, fellowships and scientific events, while helping establish new research groups and strengthen scientific capacity across its member countries.
The 2026 forum will be the first held in Dubrovnik. It will open with a keynote lecture by Ruđer Bošković Institute scientist and academician Iva Tolić, whose research focuses on the mechanisms of cell division. Tolić holds two ERC grants, including a €10 million ERC Synergy Grant studying the origins of chromosome errors linked to cancer.