Speaker
highlights
FEMS MICRO Ljubljana 2027 will feature a distinguished line-up of internationally recognised speakers from leading institutions across Europe and beyond. Selected by the FEMS Journals, we are delighted to welcome these microbiologists to Ljubljana and look forward to hearing their insights, discoveries and perspectives.
Lígia Coelho
FEMS Microbiology Letters
California Institute of Technology, USA
Dr Lígia F. Coelho leads an independent research program in astrobiology and planetary science at the California Institute of Technology.
Her research focuses on delivering science to current and upcoming telescopes and space missions by exploring how microorganisms adapt to extreme environments and how their biological properties can shape the signatures we use to search for life beyond Earth.
Dr Coelho is internationally recognized for connecting microbiology with planetary science to advance the biological realism of astrophysical tools for life detection in our Solar System and on planets orbiting other stars.
Gianni Liti
FEMS Yeast Research
Institute for Research on Cancer and Ageing of Nice, France
Dr Gianni Liti is a CNRS Researcher at the Institute for Research on Cancer and Ageing of Nice (IRCAN), France, where he leads the Population Genomics and Complex Traits research group. His research combines genetics and genomics to explore the evolutionary processes that shape natural variation within populations, using budding yeast as a model system.
Dr Liti has received several distinctions, including the DuPont Young Professor Award (2015), the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei “Giovanna Jucci” Prize for Genetics (2021), Mortimer’s Medal (2023), and the Franco–Taiwanese Research Award (2025).
Since 2016, he has served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Yeast and was elected a member of EMBO in 2021 and Academia Europaea in 2026.
Tracy Palmer
Co-Editor-in-Chief of microLife
Biosciences Institute, University of Newcastle, UK
Prof. Tracy Palmer FRS is Professor of Microbiology at Newcastle University and an internationally recognised leader in the field of bacterial protein secretion systems and microbial pathogenesis. Her pioneering research has transformed our understanding of how bacteria transport proteins across cellular membranes and interact with their environment, with important implications for both fundamental microbiology and human health.
Prof. Palmer's scientific achievements have been recognised through election to numerous prestigious academies, including the European Academy of Microbiology and the American Academy of Microbiology in 2015, EMBO in 2017, the Royal Society in 2018, and the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021. Her research is supported by major international funding, including Wellcome awards and an ERC Synergy Grant. She also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of microLife, helping to shape the future direction of microbiology research and publishing.
Tillmann Lueders
Prof. Tillmann Lueders is a leading environmental microbiologist and Head of the Chair of Ecological Microbiology at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. His research focuses on understanding the ecology of complex environmental microbiomes and the critical roles microorganisms play in driving biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functions in soil and water environments.
Through his work, Professor Lueders investigates topics including microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling, rhizosphere microbiology, groundwater quality, microplastics pollution, and the unique physiologies of environmental microorganisms. His research contributes to the development of microbe-based approaches for the protection and sustainable management of natural resources in a rapidly changing world.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
University of Bayreuth, Germany
More Speakers to Be Announced soon
More Speakers to Be Announced soon
