September 22-25, 2026, Trakošćan, Croatia

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Giuseppe Spano

University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

Prof. Giuseppe Spano is a full professor in industrial microbiology, food microbiology and recombinant DNA technology at the University of Foggia. He holds a PhD in Plant Biotechnology from University of Bristol and a PhD in Food Microbiology from University of Foggia.

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Egon Bech Hansen

Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Egon Bech Hansen is a Professor of microbial food ingredients at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. Dr Hansen obtained his PH.D. from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) focused on DNA replication in E. coli.

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Petra Buljević Zdjelarević

Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Petra Buljević Zdjelarević is a communication and public relations strategist with 16+ years of experience. At the Ruđer Bošković Institute, she leads the PR & communications team, having delivered 20+ impactful campaigns and major events, created the Institute’s digital strategy, and managed communication for 10+ EU and national projects.

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Iva Grabarić Andonovski

University of Zagreb Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Croatia

Iva Grabarić Andonovski is the Editor of Food Technology and Biotechnology, one of the leading diamond open access scholarly journals in Croatia. Her focus is on best practices and sustainability in diamond open access scholarly publishing.

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Martin Hoenigl

Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

Martin Hoenigl is a Tenured Professor of Translational Mycology at the Medical University of Graz and an internationally recognized expert in clinical mycology and infectious diseases. With more than 350 publications and multiple prestigious awards, he has significantly influenced diagnostics and clinical research in fungal infections. He has held major leadership roles in the European Confederation of Medical Mycology and serves on editorial boards and scientific committees worldwide.

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Marko Košiček

Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

Marko Košiček is an expert advisor and coordinator of popularisation and public engagement activities at the RBI.

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Denis Kutnjak

National Institute of Biology (NIB), Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Denis Kutnjak is employed at the National Institute of Biology (NIB), Department of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, Ljubljana. He is leading a research unit Microbiology within the Department. His research interests include studies on diversity, evolution and epidemiology of viruses.

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Ivan Mijakovic

Chalmers University of Technology (CTH), Gothenburg, Sweden; Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Copenhagen, Denmark

Ivan Mijakovic is Chaired Professor of bacterial Systems Biology at Chalmers University of Technology (CTH) and Professor at BRIGTH Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

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