The annual conference of the European Network for Plant Endomembrane Research (ENPER 2026) opened today in the “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. This prestigious international scientific forum will run until 28 August and is being held in Bulgaria for the first time. Our country is only the second in Eastern Europe to be chosen to host it.
Prof. Eugenia Russinova from Ghent University and the VIB–UGent Centre for Plant Systems Biology presented the thirty-year history of this major scientific forum which began in 1996 on the initiative of Prof. David Robinson from Heidelberg University. She emphasised that today the conference brings together leading scientists from Europe, Asia and North America, and expressed her pride that its anniversary edition is being held in Bulgaria.
One of the conference’s main priorities is to support young researchers. PhD students and postdoctoral researchers are given the opportunity to present the results of their research to leading experts in the field, to take part in in-depth academic discussions, and to build professional networks with colleagues from different countries. Hosting the forum in Sofia also opens up new opportunities for Bulgarian research teams to gain international visibility, exchange ideas and forge future scientific partnerships.
In her welcome address to the participants, Prof. Ina Aneva, Scientific Secretary of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, emphasised that science was born of curiosity but advanced through dialogue, the exchange of ideas and the transformation of individual discoveries into shared knowledge. Prof. Aneva addressed a special message to the young scientists, noting that their place in the scientific community was determined not by the stage of their career, but by the originality of their thinking, the depth of the questions they posed and the rigour of their scientific research. She expressed her deep gratitude to the organisers from the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics and the Institute of Molecular Biology of BAS whose scientific authority, dedication and vision affirmed the strength of Bulgarian science and its capacity to develop international collaboration at the highest level.
The conference was officially opened by Associate Professor Kiril Mishev from the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics – BAS, one of the main initiators and organisers of the scientific forum. The start was marked by the traditional bell – a symbol of the conference – which signalled the beginning of the forthcoming scientific discussions and international exchange of ideas.
On the first day, participants will present and discuss research focusing on transport between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus, exocytosis, endocytosis, vacuolar transport, autophagy and the plasticity of endomembrane systems. The day will conclude with a poster session which will provide further opportunities for scientific exchange and professional networking.
Over the next two days, there will be scientific sessions focusing on nuclear envelope formation, cell division, the maintenance of cell polarity, immunity and signalling in plants, interactions with environmental factors, and modern technologies for studying endomembrane structures.
The hosting of ENPER 2026 in Sofia is a recognition of the scientific capacity of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and of the contribution of Bulgarian scientists to modern plant and cell biology. The conference is expected to create new opportunities for international collaboration and for the even more active involvement of young Bulgarian researchers in the European scientific community.
Detailed information and the conference programme have been published on the official ENPER 2026 website
