Science on the Go

In this unique initiative female scientists are bringing science to the streets, engaging the public, and breaking stereotypes about research and scientific careers. Through interactive talks, they highlight the impact of genetic mutations on cancer treatment and the power of personalized medicine in modern healthcare.

Science on the Go (“Znanost u prolazu”) is an initiative aimed at bringing science closer to the public. Unlike traditional open days or science nights hosted by institutions, this event stands out by taking female scientists into public spaces to change perceptions about science, showcasing what scientific research entails and what a day in the life of a scientist looks like. The event not only promotes women in science but also inspires young girls to pursue scientific careers. By engaging the public and gaining media attention, it seeks to increase the visibility of scientists and highlight their work in Croatia. The event is powered by the Penkala Association.

Paula Štancl was one of the first female scientists to present her topic during the event on March 5, 2022, at Cvjetni trg in Zagreb, and later on September 17, 2022, in Sisak. The title of her talk was: “Mutations: A Blessing or a Curse for Tumors?” Below is a short description of her presentation:

Mistakes happen every day. Whether you forgot to buy bread on your way home or marked the wrong answer on an exam, you’ve likely heard the saying: “We learn from our mistakes” or “Mistakes make us wiser.” Just like us, our cells make daily errors, some of which can lead to the development of malignant tumors. And yet, some of these mistakes make tumors highly sensitive to specific drugs. Thanks to advancements in technology, scientists can now easily read the unique DNA sequence of each tumor, searching for the mistakes – mutations – it carries. These mutations have allowed scientists to better understand the errors within tumors, paving the way for the development of new and improved therapies to treat patients.

At ZUP in Zagreb on March 11, 2023, alongside Paula, our group member Doris Repušić also presented the hidden world of individual cells and how we can explore it. The title of their talk was: “The Secrets of an Individual Cell.” Below is a brief description of their presentation:
Personalized medicine is a revolutionary approach to health care that takes into account the unique needs of each individual. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies to study the gene expression of every single cell, medical experts can gain a deeper understanding of disease complexity, enabling them to design treatments tailored to the specific needs of each person. However, sometimes just one altered and resistant tumor cell is enough for a therapy to fail.

Find out more about this event on Znanost u prolazu offical page.

science on the go 2022 gallery
science on the go 2022 gallery

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Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

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Kristian Vlahoviček

Group leader and Full Professor of Bioinformatics at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

While studying molecular biology at the University of Zagreb he developed a strong interest in applying computational methods and approaches to biosciences. For his master thesis he worked on a problem in X-ray crystallography and developed a program for absorption correction of scattered X-ray data. He obtained his PhD in Bioinformatics/Biochemistry, still pursuing his structural biology interests, working on a computational prediction of structural and physicochemical properties of DNA. He spent 10 years as a research fellow at the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste, Italy, where he also worked on computational prediction and classification of protein domains using machine learning approaches.

In 2002 he established a computational biology group at the Zagreb University, where he moved permanently in 2006 with the EMBO Young Investigators Programme installation grant, and directed the scientific interests towards the newly emerging field of genomics. His bioinformatics group develops computational tools and uses machine learning techniques to tackle open questions in developmental genomics and metagenomics.

In 2011 he became full professor at the Faculty of Science at Zagreb University. He had several international appointments, including a 4-year adjunct professorship at the University of Oslo, Norway and a two-year adjunct professorship at the University of Skövde, Sweden. From 2008 to 2012 he served as the head of the Division of Biology, Faculty of Science at University of Zagreb and was responsible for managing a division of ~150 staff.

He is involved in teaching four graduate-level courses: Bioinformatics, Algorithms and programming, Statistics and machine learning and Computational genomics. During his time as a group leader more than 30 doctoral and master students graduated under his supervision. Some of his graduates continued with PhD and postdoctoral training at prestigious universities around the world, including LMB Cambridge, UK; EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany; RIKEN, Japan and ETH, Zurich, Switzerland.

His scientific track-record includes more than 60 publications in high-level journals and talks in many renowned institutions throughout the world. His research topics are: developmental and differentiation genomics, metagenomics, population genomics and glycomics, origins of multicellularity, epigenomics of cancer, development of computational methods and application of machine learning in genomics and molecular biology.

He is the reviewer in a number of scientific journals, as well as national and international funding bodies and programmes, such as ESF Programme, EC FP7, H2020, and Horizon Europe Programmes, Estonian National Funding Agency, Hungarian National Funding Agency, Flanders Research Foundation, The Netherlands ZonMw Vidi Programme, Croatian National Funding Agencies. He reviewed program applications for Croatian pre-accession and accession structural funds.

Prof. Vlahoviček is a Fellow of the Academia Europaea, and a member of several professional societies, at the national and international level. Professor Vlahoviček is a strong proponent of science reforms in Croatia and evidence-based policy making. He served in the steering committee of Croatia’s highly successful science funding body, the Unity through Knowledge Fund (UKF) and has participated in several strategy-drafting panels at the university and national level. He also served as the Member of the Steering Committee of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, a leading Croatian research entity in natural sciences, with ~900 staff.