Career Development

HEVRE, Beera Meiselsa 18, 31-058 Kraków

As intellectual and social warm-up, we invite all of registered participants to a special event that will be held on April 23rd, 19h00 at a unique cultural heritage of Cracow – HEVRE (Beera Meiselsa 18, 31-058 Kraków).
During this evening, we encourage you to take an active part in an open discussion on topic frequently absent from the classical academic sylabus: Career Development.
Young scientists tend to be programmed on the academic career carrying the promise of great discoveries. However, current job market offers a wide range of positions in basic research, private sector, and a variety of science-related jobs.

How to find the ideal solution where you can fully exploit your talents? And – is there only one ideal scenario, or is there any at all?

Our panelists are scientists happy to share their – not always straightforward – experience: Dr Ali Jawaid, trained in medicine, transformed to a leading figure of translational research, Dr Judith Schweimer, neurobiologist with career at leading European institutes, who has joined big pharma as an initiator and supervisor of industry-academia collaborations, and Dr hab. Michał Bola, a successful scientist who recently launched a project for popular science.

Discussion will be led by Dr. Michał Ślęzak.

Join us in the conversation and ask leading researchers on their motivation and experience. The workshop will be opened to all registered participants of NEURONUS 2026!

Speakers

Dr. Judith Schweimer is a Scientific Coordinator in the External Innovations team within Neuroscience & Mental Health Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. In this role, she leads and supports collaborative research projects with academic partners at universities and research institutions. She is also a lecturer at the University of Ulm, where she teaches neuroscience; and she supervises project students within the company.
Prior to this, Dr. Schweimer was a Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews. After successfully finishing a Senior Postdoctoral Research position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, where her work focused on electrophysiology, neuroanatomy, and behaviour in the context of serotonin and mood disorders. During this time, she was also a Lecturer in Neuroscience at Somerville College, Oxford.

Her postdoctoral training further includes research positions at Imperial College London, investigating the in vivo electrophysiology of the serotonin system, and at King’s College London, where she worked on the development of novel treatment approaches for multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Schweimer obtained her PhD from the University of Stuttgart, studying the role of the anterior cingulate cortex and its dopaminergic innervation in instrumental learning and decision-making. After finishing her first degree in Biology at the University of Tübingen, for her thesis, she examined a region of the extended amygdala and its involvement in fear and anxiety processing.
Throughout her career, she has maintained a strong interest in the biological mechanisms underlying mental health conditions and in the development of innovative treatment strategies, encompassing both pharmacological and psychological approaches.

Associate Professor Michał Bola, PhD – Works at the Jagiellonian University (UJ) Centre for Brain Research. He earned his PhD from the University of Magdeburg in 2015 and obtained his habilitation degree (DSc) at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) in 2021.
His research focuses on cognitive neuroscience, specifically the mechanisms of visual perception, conscious awareness, and psychedelic substances. He is a principal investigator for National Science Centre (NCN) grants and a recipient of the FNP START fellowship and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW) Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists. He is also the creator of the popular science project nauka.nie.boli.

Dr. Ali Jawaid is an accomplished physician-scientist with a strong foundation in clinical and basic neuroscience. After completing his medical studies at Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan in 2007, he pursued further clinical and research training in Neuropsychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Dr. Jawaid went on to achieve an MD-PhD in Neuroscience from Switzerland, earning simultaneous PhD degrees from the UZH/ETH International Program in Neuroscience and UZH MD-PhD program. His research spans diverse areas including memory, dementia, neurodegenerative disorders, neuroepigenetics, post-traumatic stress disorder, transgenerational trauma, and resilience to adverse childhood experiences.

Saturday, 25th April

Neurofitness

Auditorium Maximum, TBA

Neurofitness (8:00-8:45) classes combine gentle movement, mindfulness and breathwork to ease muscle tension, improve mobility and reduce stress. You will also discover techniques to calm your nervous system for deeper relaxation and better overall wellbeing. Whether you have neck pain, back pain or simply want to de-stress, these classes will leave you feeling calm and refreshed.

The workshop will be led by Anna Pałasz holds a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Jagiellonian University. She is a certified body & mind fitness instructor specializing in relaxation techniques, healthy spine exercises and mindfulness. She develops corporate training materials on stress management and wellbeing. Her media (https://neurofitness.pl/) presence promotes neurofitness - relaxation exercises for nervous system regulation.

IBRO Integration Event

Wesoła Immersive – New Media Art Center, Mikołaja Kopernika 17A, 31-501 Kraków

Join us for the conference social event sponsored by IBRO! This will be a great opportunity to connect with fellow participants, have conversations, and enjoy some music and dancing in a relaxed atmosphere. Participants will also have the chance to explore the exhibition available at the venue.

A variety of food, including hot dishes, will be provided for all participants. Drinks will be available for purchase at the bar.

All participants are warmly invited — entry is granted upon presentation of your badge. We start at 20:00 - we look forward to seeing you there!