This time, the host of Europe’s largest genetics conference, organised annually bythe European Society of Human Genetics, (ESHG), was Sweden.Between 13 and 16 June 2026, the city of Gothenburg welcomed nearly 5,000 participants and exhibitors, whilst over a thousand people took part in the event online. As always, the ESHG conference provided a significant boost of knowledge and motivation to continue acquiring it and discovering what remains to be discovered. Winners of prestigious awards shared their experiences on the path to scientific success:
– Anne Cambon-Thomsen – Honorary Director of Research at the CNRS, Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Research (INSERM) at the University of Toulouse in France, a specialist in immunology, transplantology, population genetics and ethics in genetic research (winner of the 2026 ELPAG Award Lecture );
– Tuuli Lappalainen – Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Director of the National Genomic Infrastructure and the SciLifeLab Genomic Platform in Sweden, and a senior faculty member at the New York Genome Center; participant in the GTEx (Genotype-Tissue Expression) Project (winner of the ESHG Award);
– Guillaume Canaud – a professor of translational medicine and targeted therapies at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris – has successfully implemented a new treatment for rare genetic disorders that cause uncontrolled tissue growth, PROS PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum) (winner of the Mendel Lecturer Award 2026).
During Monday’s poster session on 15 June, Luiza Handschuh, project manager of ‘G4PL – Genomics for Poland’, presented the project’s objectives and implementation plan. The poster attracted considerable interest from both Polish and international participants. The second poster from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (IBCH) of the Polish Academy of Sciences, on Batten disease and the genetic variants associated with this condition found in the Polish population, was presented by Małgorzata Marcinkowska-Swojak. The study was carried out in collaboration with the Platinum Team Foundation.
Shortly after the conference ended, on 17 June, a Genome of Europe project meeting took place – another opportunity to network, exchange experiences and gain valuable insights into the implementation of large-scale genomic projects. The G4PL consortium was represented at the meeting by Luiza Handschuh (IBCH PAS) and Błażej Marciniak (University of Łódź).
