INVITED SPEAKERS
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Symposium:
Host-microbiome interactions
Mihai Netea
Radboud University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Mihai Netea was born and studied medicine in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He completed his PhD at the Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, on studies investigating the cytokine network in sepsis. After working as a post-doc at the University of Colorado, he returned to Nijmegen where he finished his clinical training as an infectious diseases specialist, and where he currently heads the division of Experimental Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Nijmegen University Nijmegen Medical Center. He is mainly interested in understanding the memory traits of innate immunity (trained immunity), the factors influencing variability of human immune responses, and the immune dysregulation during bacterial and fungal infections. He is the recipient of the Spinoza Prize 2016 and he is a member of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW).
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Symposium:
Evolutionary roots of behavioural diversity
Martin Giurfa
Sorbonne University, France
After obtaining his PhD Degree from the University of Buenos Aires under the supervision of Josué Núñez, Prof. Giurfa moved to Germany in 1990, to work at the institute of Neurobiology of the Free University of Berlin under the supervision of Prof. Menzel. In 2001, he moved to Toulouse, France, as a Professor of Neurosciences of Paul Sabatier University. In 2003, he created the Research Center on Animal Cognition, a multidisciplinary research institute focusing on the mechanisms of cognitive processing in various animal species and which he directed until 2017. From 2008 to 2012, he was President of the National Committee of Neurosciences of the French National Centre for Scientific Research and served in numerous French and European boards of neurosciences. In 2023, he moved to Paris as the director of the Institute of Biology Paris-Seine (IBPS) of Sorbonne University. Prof. Giurfa is a recipient of the Silver Medal of the French National Centre for Scientific Research and of an Advanced Fellowship from the European Research Council (ERC). He is also an elected member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium and a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). In 2013, He was distinguished with the Raices Award of the Argentinean Government. He is an Honors Professor of the University of Buenos Aires and the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University.
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Mirte Bosse
VU University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Mirte Bosse is an evolutionary genomics researcher working at the intersection of animal breeding and ecological genomics. With a cum laude Ph.D. on the hybrid nature of pig genomes, she helped introduce whole-genome tools from livestock research into endangered-species conservation. Her work contributes to understanding genetic health, inbreeding and broader biodiversity challenges. Holding positions at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Wageningen University, she studies species such as warty pigs, red pandas and Asian elephants. She has received a prestigious Vidi grant and is a National Geographic Explorer, receiving the Wayfinder Award in 2025. Bosse also mentors early-career researchers and engages in science communication through media, museums, zoos and collaborations with conservation organizations.
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David Caramelli
University of Firenze, Italy
Prof. David Caramelli is one of the leading international experts in paleogenetics and Full Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florence. His research has significantly advanced the reconstruction of evolutionary and demographic patterns in human populations and the understanding of interactions between archaic and modern groups. He established the first laboratory in Italy dedicated to the study of degraded DNA, contributing to the development of ancient DNA methodologies. He has directed the Department of Biology at the University of Florence and now chairs the University Museum System. Author of around 200 publications, he is among the most cited scholars in ancient DNA research and leads numerous international collaborations in paleogenomics.
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Maurizio Mencuccini
ICREA / CREAF, Spain
Maurizio Mencuccini is an ICREA Research Professor at CREAF and Honorary Professor of Forest Science at the University of Edinburgh. Working at the frontiers between terrestrial ecology, global change science and fundamental biology, he studies climate-change impacts on tree and forest physiology—especially the effects of heat and drought on plant water use and water status across scales. He has advanced understanding of the effects of plasticity, local adaptation and phylogenetic evolutionary patterns on the diversity of water use traits by woody plants. He has published 250+ peer-reviewed papers and is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in Plant & Animal Science since 2018.
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