The 6th Doctoral Student Conference was held on October 17-18 at the Nencki Institute. This annual event brought together the entire community of the Institute, giving them the opportunity to learn about the research conducted by Ph.D. students, while they themselves had the opportunity to present their results, gather feedback, exchange ideas, and socialize.

During the conference, we had the great pleasure of hosting several lecturers and students from the Prague Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB). Prof. Jan Konvalinka and Prof. Pavlina Rezacova gave seminars on their research related to drug discovery. We also hosted Dr. Ulrike Top, from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who spoke about how modulating the composition of ribosomes can help cells combat mitochondrial stress. The closing seminar was virtually-delivered by Prof. Uri Alon of the Weizmann Institute of Science, who spoke about ways to improve academic culture and shared personal experiences through original songs on the ukulele.

This year, nearly 100 Ph.D. students presented their results in the form of a talk or a poster.

Best “long talk” prizes were awarded to:

Terezie Páníková (1st prize)
Konrad Danielewski (distinction)
Karolina Protokowicz (distinction)

Best “speed talk” awards were received by:

Paulina Kamińska (1st prize)
Agnieszka Glica (distinction)
Joanna Jasińska (distinction).

“Best poster” prizes were awarded to:

Bondita Dehingia (1st prize)
Pegah Taheri (distinction)
Robin Kryštůfek (distinction)