Artificial intelligence in medicine
How machine learning is reaching the clinic and the lab, what it changes for the next generation of practice, and where the real limits still sit.
Plexus Conference 2026
The room where young biomedicine meets the people who shaped it.
Plexus is networking first. Two days of panels, lectures, and fireside chats, capped by the Plexus Gala evening, where rising scientists and clinicians sit close to the leaders of their field and actually get to talk to them.
December 4–5, 2026 · Zagreb, Croatia
Registration is free and seats are capped — reserve yours early.
Until Plexus 2026
Across our Plexus editions
Momentum you can measure.
2,500+
Guests welcomed
30+
Countries represented
50+
Speakers hosted
11
Nobel laureates
01How Plexus is built
Networking first
The format is built so the right conversation actually happens.
At most conferences the stage is the whole event and you watch from a distance. At Plexus the talks are the starting point. 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. The two days are deliberately small so a student can ask a real question, and a leader has the time to answer it.
-
Panels and lectures
Headline science and medicine, presented as panels rather than monologues, so different perspectives meet in real time.
-
Fireside chats
Candid conversations on career paths, challenges, and the failures behind them, told first-hand by leaders in biomedicine.
-
Time with the speakers
Coffee, breakfast, and an evening together. The schedule keeps the speakers in the room and within reach, not behind a rope.
Plexus 2026 · two threads
This year, two threads run through everything.
The career paths of biomedical leaders
The routes leaders actually took into biomedicine: the turning points, the setbacks, and the decisions that shaped the careers behind the headlines.
The Med&X member portal
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 before, during, and after the two days.
Network with participants
See the program
Register in minutes
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 — on panels and in fireside chats. They lead some of the world's most renowned universities and hospitals.
University of Cambridge
Lord Smith of Finsbury
Chancellor
UCLA Health
Johnese Spisso, MPA
President, UCLA Health · CEO, UCLA Hospital System
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 →
The evening that follows
And then there is the Plexus Gala.
The two days of conference are capped by an evening of their own: a unique December evening that brings more than 150 senior biomedical professionals and the wider Plexus community together over dinner and conversation. It is a separate evening with its own invitation.
Four keynote speakers lead the evening: the heads of the University of Cambridge, UCLA Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, and University Health Network.
02The networking moments
Where the connections are made.
Across the two days, the most valuable parts of Plexus are scheduled on purpose. These are the moments built for meeting people.
December 4
Evening networking
The first day closes with an open evening that brings speakers, students, and rising professionals together once the talks are done.
December 5
Coffee with speakers
Small, informal coffee breaks placed beside the speakers so a quick introduction can turn into a real conversation.
December 5
Breakfast with speakers
Start the second day at the table with the people on the program. Fewer chairs than a lecture hall, far more access.
December 5
Time with speakers
Dedicated time set aside through the day for attendees to speak with the leaders they came to learn from.
03 · The program
The shape of the two days, at a glance.
Provisional program — times will firm up closer to the conference. Sessions and speakers are still being confirmed, and the full schedule will be published ahead of the two days.
Day 1
Friday, December 4-
09:00
Registration and welcome coffee
Doors open and the Plexus community gathers for the start of the two days.
-
10:00
Opening of Plexus 2026
A welcome from Med&X and the framing of what the two days hold.
-
11:00
Opening keynote and panel
Headline talk and a panel on AI in medicine, where leading voices share the stage.
-
13:00
Lunch and networking
A break to meet the speakers and each other over lunch.
-
14:30
Fireside chats, panels, and lectures
Candid conversations on career paths and the latest in medicine and science.
-
18:00
Networking reception
The first day closes with an open evening that brings speakers, students, and rising professionals together.
Day 2
Saturday, December 5-
09:00
Coffee and breakfast with speakers
Start the second day at the table with the people on the program, within easy reach.
-
10:30
Panels
Discussion on the career paths of biomedical leaders, the turning points and the setbacks behind them.
-
13:00
Lunch and networking
Time with the speakers and the community over lunch.
-
14:30
Fireside chats and closing
Final conversations, time with the speakers, and the close of the conference.
-
19:00
Plexus Gala Separate ticket
An intimate evening at Hotel Esplanade Zagreb that brings senior leaders and the wider community together over dinner, with its own invitation.
Want the full program first?
Pre-register now and you will be first to hear when the final schedule, sessions, and speakers go live, with your place already held.
Tickets & extras
Free to attend, with a few networking extras.
The conference itself is free. A handful of close-contact networking moments carry a small charge, which keeps those tables small enough to actually be useful.
Free
The conference
Entry to both days is free of charge. Plexus 2026 is capped at 100 seats, so pre-register to hold your place while the program is finalized.
- All panels, lectures, and fireside chats
- December 4 evening networking
- 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 (December 5)
- Networking lunches
- Breakfast and dedicated time with speakers
Program coming soon
Sessions and speakers announced before December 2026.
The full schedule is being finalized. Pre-register now and you will be first to hear when it goes live, with your place already held.
Pre-register for the conference →
Registration takes about 2 minutes in our secure Med&X portal.
Thinking of attending?
Everything you need to plan your two days, from arrival to the networking moments, is in one place.
04Past speakers
The people who took the Plexus stage.
From Nobel laureates to the leaders of world-renowned institutions: a glimpse of the scientists and clinicians who have shared their work, and their candid account of getting there, with the Plexus community.
Nobel Laureate
Nobel Laureate
Nobel Laureate
Nobel Laureate
Harvard Medical School
Nobel Foundation
Intuitive Foundation
Médecins Sans Frontières
And many more
Leaders of hospitals, universities, global health, and industry who have shared the Plexus stage.
Niko Mihić, MD
Real Madrid
Chief Medical Officer
Tomislav Mihaljević, MD
Cleveland Clinic
President & CEO
Robert Langer, ScD
MIT
Institute Professor
Soumya Swaminathan, MD
World Health Organization
Former Chief Scientist
David Rhew, MD
Microsoft
Global Chief Medical Officer
George M. Abraham, MD
Saint Vincent Hospital
Chief of Medicine · Past President, ACP
Christopher Kabrhel, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Center for Vascular Emergencies
Martin Pušić, MD, PhD
Boston Children's Hospital
Medical education
Krešimir Luetić, MD
Croatian Medical Chamber
President
Iskra Reić
AstraZeneca
Executive Vice-President
Mario Škugor, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Endocrinology
Jaikirshan Khatri, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Interventional cardiology
Ravi Nair, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Cardiology
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.
The team behind it
The Med&X committee behind Plexus.
Plexus is organized by the Med&X committee, together with the wider team, who shape the program, invite the speakers, and keep the room intentionally close.
Want to help bring the next Plexus together? Join through the member portal →
05Partner with Plexus
Reach the next generation of biomedicine.
~100young physicians, scientists, and medical students this edition
~70%from Croatia, the rest from abroad
100seats — the room is capped on purpose
The Plexus audience is mostly young biomedical professionals: young physicians and young scientists, alongside physicians, scientists, and medical students. Most come from Croatia, and a substantial share from abroad. This year the room is small on purpose: Plexus 2026 is capped at 100 seats.
01
A young, focused audience
Young physicians and scientists, plus established physicians, scientists, and medical students, the people who will define the next decade of the field.
02
Croatian and international reach
An audience drawn mostly from Croatia and substantially from abroad, in one bilateral gathering with genuine cross-border reach.
03
Capped at 100 seats this year
The Plexus 2026 cap keeps the room intimate, so a partner is present for real conversations rather than a logo lost in a crowd.
Would you rather reach senior biomedical professionals? Sponsor the Gala evening, where the leaders of Croatian and world biomedicine gather.
Sponsor the Plexus Gala evening →Med&X is a registered Croatian non-profit. Every partnership is documented, and our governance and finances are open to read. Governance & transparency →
Confirmed for 2026
This year’s speakers.
Keynote
![]()