On April 24-26, the Neuronus & Young PTBUN 2026 conference was held in Krakow, bringing together neuroscientists from all over the world. This year, a particularly large number of studies focusing on the effects of behaviour and psychedelics on brain activity were presented.

For the implementation of a timely technology project in the field of life sciences, a one-time €1000 Linea Libera scholarship has been awarded to UNL PhD student Eimina Dirvelytė-Valauskė. In her research, Eimina aims to apply gene-editing tools and delivery strategies to the development of a therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome, a childhood neurodegenerative disease.

We are happy and proud to share that our PhD student Ieva Šiugždaitė has been awarded a LSC scholarship for her active contributions to science communication and public engagement. This recognition reflects not only her consistent work in research, but also her commitment to making science more accessible, engaging, and understandable, while helping connect the academic community with the broader public.

UNL PhD student Igoris Nagula, together with his student Gabija Valentaitė, won the science communication competition “Mokslo sprintas”, where they presented the talk “What Does the Electrical Language of Neurons Reveal About the Development of Brain Networks?” in just three minutes.

At the COINS 2026 Conference, UNL research assistant Rusnė Uzielaitė received the best pitch presentation prize for her presentation “In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity Assessment of Titanium Carbide MXenes”, which was based on her Master’s thesis being prepared at the Innovative Medicine Center.

Prof. Urtė Neniškytė, a researcher at the Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC), has been appointed European Research Council (ERC) Ambassador in Lithuania. By joining the international “Ambassadors for the ERC” network, she will contribute to strengthening connections between ERC grantees, national research communities, and policy stakeholders — while advocating for the importance of fundamental, curiosity-driven research in shaping Europe’s future.

Professor Urtė Neniškytė has been elected to the Board of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence (FKNE) – a prestigious European neuroscience network bringing together leading researchers across the continent. 

The European Journal of Neuroscience (EJN) introduced Dr. Urtė Neniškytė, who was featured in the EJN series Profiles of Women in Science. 

Dr. Ugnė Kuliešiūtė received the Early Career Researcher Award from the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Ugne has recently returned from an internship at GLYCOS in Zagreb, Croatia. There, she established the methodologies for the investigation of the human glycome. For the next two years, she will apply these techniques to investigate how the sugary coat of neurons defines their activity and network formation in the human brain.