Nobel Laureate
Martin Chalfie
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2008
Columbia University
Plexus Speakers
The people who took the Plexus stage.
Across our editions, more than 50 speakers have stood on the Plexus stage, from Nobel laureates to the people who lead the world’s foremost hospitals, universities, and institutions, in conversation with the next generation. Here are a few of them.
01Nobel laureates
Nobel laureates on the Plexus stage.
Laureates whose discoveries reshaped modern science, in conversation with students and early-career researchers in Zagreb.
Nobel Laureate
Robert Lefkowitz
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2012
Duke University · HHMI
Nobel Laureate
Joachim Frank
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2017
Columbia University
Nobel Laureate
George P. Smith
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2018
University of Missouri
02Confirmed for 2026
The Plexus Gala 2026 keynotes.
This December’s evening is led by four people who run some of the world’s foremost hospitals and universities, in Zagreb, in person, for one evening.
Lord Smith of Finsbury
University of Cambridge
Chancellor
Johnese Spisso
UCLA Health
President · CEO, UCLA Hospital System
Dr Marcela del Carmen
Massachusetts General Hospital
President
Dr Kevin Smith
University Health Network
President & CEO
03Past speakers
Leaders from the world’s foremost institutions.
A selection of the scientists, clinicians, and executives who have shared their work, and a candid account of getting there, with the Plexus community.
This is a selection. New speakers are announced each year as the program takes shape. Across our editions, Plexus has welcomed scientists and clinicians from Harvard, MIT, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, and Boston Children’s Hospital, alongside leading Croatian researchers.
Confirmed for 2026
This year’s speakers.
Keynote
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The stage continues
Two doors into the same room.
See the full conference program, or step into the evening that anchors it. Either way, you are close to the people who take our stage.