Artificial intelligence in medicine
How machine learning is reaching the clinic and the lab.
Plexus Conference 2026
The room where young biomedicine meets the people who shaped it.
Two days of panels, lectures, and fireside chats, capped by the Gala Evening.
4–5
Dec2026
Hrvatski državni arhivZagreb Saturday at the Sheraton Zagreb HotelRegistration is open
Across our Plexus editions
Momentum you can measure.
2,500+
Guests welcomed
30+
Countries represented
50+
Speakers hosted
11
Nobel laureates
The format is built so the right conversation actually happens.
At Plexus the talks are the starting point. The two days are deliberately small so a student can ask a real question, and a leader has the time to answer it.
More on the format
At most conferences the stage is the whole event and you watch from a distance. The two days move through panels, lectures, and fireside chats, so the programming is easy to follow: you always know whether you are about to hear headline science, a cross-disciplinary discussion, or a candid one-on-one.
The fireside chats go further into the part no one usually says out loud: the career paths, the hard choices, and the failures behind them, told by leaders in biomedicine. It is candid, and it is up close.
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Panels and lectures
Headline science and medicine, presented as panels rather than monologues.
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Fireside chats
Candid conversations on career paths, challenges, and the failures behind them.
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Time with the speakers
Coffee and an evening together.
This year, two threads run through everything.
The career paths of biomedical leaders
The routes leaders actually took into biomedicine.
Join the portal to get the most out of Plexus.
One place to register for the conference, follow the program as it goes live, and network with other Plexus participants.
Get the Med&X app
For iPhone and iPad.
This year’s speakers
The leaders of the world’s institutions, on the Plexus stage.
This year’s Plexus Gala keynotes also take part in the conference.
University of Cambridge
Lord Smith of Finsbury
Chancellor
Mass General Brigham
Chris Coburn
Chief Innovation Officer
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr Giles Boland
President
Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr Marcela del Carmen
President
University Health Network
Dr Kevin Smith
President & CEO
The same leaders headline the Plexus Gala that closes the conference. See the Gala Evening Full speaker profiles
And then there is the Plexus Gala.
The two days of conference are capped by an evening of their own.
5
Dec19:00
Hotel Esplanade ZagrebA separate evening with its own ticket
Five keynote speakers
and more than 150 senior professionals
and more than 150 senior professionals
Who leads the evening
The December evening that anchors Plexus Week, bringing more than 150 senior biomedical professionals and the wider Plexus community together over dinner and conversation.
Five keynote speakers lead the evening: the leadership of the University of Cambridge, Mass General Brigham, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and University Health Network.
Where the connections are made.
The moments built for meeting people.
4Dec21:00
Evening networking
The first day closes with an open evening.
5Dec09:00–10:00
Inside the Biomedical Forum
An info session at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel.
5Dec10:00–14:00
Building Bridges in Biomedicine
At the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel, Croatian biomedical professionals from abroad meet colleagues from Croatia’s hospitals and universities. Free to attend.
5Dec19:00
Plexus Gala
An intimate evening at Hotel Esplanade Zagreb.
The shape of the two days, at a glance.
Provisional Times will firm up closer to the conference. The full schedule will be published ahead of the two days.
Friday 4 December
Hrvatski državni arhivMarulićev trg 21, Zagreb
- 16:30Registration and welcomeDoors open
- 17:15Opening keynoteA welcome from Med&X
- 18:00PanelAI in medicine
- 19:20KeynoteThe second keynote
- 21:00Networking receptionThe lectures end at 21:00
Saturday 5 December
Sheraton Zagreb HotelKneza Borne 2, Zagreb
- 08:30Coffee with speakers PaidBefore the Forum info session
- 09:00Inside the Biomedical ForumIn the same room as Building Bridges
- 19:00Plexus Gala Separate ticketAn intimate evening at Hotel Esplanade Zagreb
Want the full program first?
Register today and you will be first to hear when the final schedule, sessions, and speakers go live, with your place already held.
Free to attend, with a few networking extras.
A handful of close-contact networking moments carry a small charge.
Free
The conference
Entry to both days is free of charge. Plexus 2026 is capped at 150 seats, so register to hold your place.
- All panels, lectures, and fireside chats
- Evening networking 4 Dec
- The latest in medicine and science across many topics
Paid extras
Time with the speakers
A few intentionally small, paid moments built for real conversation with the people on the program.
- Coffee with speakers 5 Dec 08:30 Sheraton Zagreb Hotel
- Dedicated time with speakers
Sessions and speakers announced before December 2026. Registration takes about 2 minutes in our secure Med&X portal.
Abstracts and proceedings
Accepted student and physician abstracts are published in the official conference proceedings.
Browse the 2025 Book of AbstractsThe people who took the Plexus stage.
From Nobel laureates to the leaders of world-renowned institutions.
And many more
Leaders of hospitals, universities, global health, and industry who have shared the Plexus stage.
Niko Mihić- Tomislav Mihaljević
Robert Langer
Soumya Swaminathan
David Rhew
George M. Abraham
Christopher Kabrhel
Martin Pušić
Krešimir Luetić
Iskra Reić
Mario Škugor
Jaikirshan Khatri
Ravi Nair
Their names and roles
Past editions have welcomed scientists, clinicians, and industry leaders from Harvard, MIT, the Cleveland Clinic, and Boston Children’s Hospital, alongside leading Croatian researchers, a two-way exchange that draws global expertise to Zagreb and carries Croatian science out into the world.
- Niko Mihić, MDReal Madrid Chief Medical Officer
- Tomislav Mihaljević, MDCleveland Clinic President & CEO
- Robert Langer, ScDMIT Institute Professor
- Soumya Swaminathan, MDWorld Health Organization Former Chief Scientist
- David Rhew, MDMicrosoft Global Chief Medical Officer
- George M. Abraham, MDSaint Vincent Hospital Chief of Medicine Past President, ACP
- Christopher Kabrhel, MDMassachusetts General Hospital Center for Vascular Emergencies
- Martin Pušić, MD, PhDBoston Children’s Hospital Medical education
- Krešimir Luetić, MDCroatian Medical Chamber President
- Iskra ReićAstraZeneca Executive Vice-President
- Mario Škugor, MDCleveland Clinic Endocrinology
- Jaikirshan Khatri, MDCleveland Clinic Interventional cardiology
- Ravi Nair, MDCleveland Clinic Cardiology
The Med&X committee behind Plexus.
Plexus is organized by the Med&X committee, together with the wider team.
Want to help bring the next Plexus together? Join through the member portal
Reach the next generation of biomedicine.
~100young physicians, scientists, and medical students this edition
~70%from Croatia, the rest from abroad
150seats
More on the audience
Young physicians and scientists, plus established physicians, scientists, and medical students, the people who will define the next decade of the field.
An audience drawn mostly from Croatia and substantially from abroad, in one bilateral gathering.
The Plexus 2026 cap keeps the room intimate, so a partner is present for real conversations rather than a logo lost in a crowd.
Med&X is a registered Croatian non-profit. Every partnership is documented, and our governance and finances are open to read.
Would you rather reach senior biomedical professionals? Sponsor the Gala Evening.
Sponsor the Gala Evening
Confirmed for 2026
This year’s speakers.
Keynote
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