The 2026 OP JAK PhD Conference was successfully held at IMIC CAS

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, a PhD conference was held under the auspices of the OP JAK project INTER MICRO, titled “Talking with microbes.” A total of 20 presentations were given on research projects being conducted by PhD students from the laboratories of the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS, the University of Chemistry and Technology (VŠCHT), and Charles University (UK). The conference was divided into four thematic sections: Pathogens and Infectious Diseases / Antimicrobial Resistance and Therapeutics / Microbiome, Environment, and Systems / Protein Structure and Molecular Systems.

The event was organized by Eliška Růžičková and Michaela Burešová (Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Bacterial Pathogens), founders of the PhD Club, together with Janet Luthar (Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology). A big thank you goes not only to them, but also to the other students who helped ensure the smooth running of the entire event.

Why are these events important for students?

Presentation skills: Students can practice presenting their own results to an audience.

Feedback: They receive valuable comments from experts and other students, which helps advance their projects.

Networking: These events connect young talents across institutions (and within institutions) and open doors to future collaboration.

During the meeting, participants had the opportunity to vote for the best presentation. So who received the most votes?

Congratulations to:

1st palce: Denisa Vondrová, Laboratory of Infection Biology, IMIC CAS

2nd place: Elif Kaplan, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Charles University

3rd place: Mufarrah Mehboob, Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistance and Microbial Metabolomics, IMIC CAS