Protistology Open 2026 — del Campo Lab at PROTIST2026 in Prague

The del Campo Lab heads to Prague this week for Protistology Open 2026, the joint meeting of the International Society of Protistologists (ISOP) and four European protistological societies. The conference takes place April 19–23 at the Grand Hotel International — the same venue that hosted the very first gathering of protistologists back in 1961.

Four lab members are presenting their work:

Javier del Campo — 2025 Hutner Award Winner Talk Unveiling Marine Protist Diversity: From the Open Ocean to the Coral Reef

Javier has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Hutner Award, one of the most prestigious distinctions in protistology, awarded by the International Society of Protistologists to recognise outstanding contributions to the field. His talk will take audiences on a journey through the diversity and ecological roles of marine protists, from open ocean surveys to coral reef holobionts.

Rocío Mozo Phylogenomics of coral photosymbionts and their free-living relatives

Rocío will present her phylogenomic work placing the photosymbiotic protists associated with corals in the broader context of their free-living relatives, shedding light on the evolutionary transitions to symbiosis.

Joana Krause-Massaguer Isolation, Culturing and Characterisation of Protist Symbionts from Mediterranean Corals

Joana will present her efforts to bring coral protist symbionts into culture, a critical step towards understanding their biology and their role in the coral holobiont.

Jordi Nonell Using Single-Cell Genomics to Generate High-Quality Genomes of Uncultured Protists

Jordi will showcase how single-cell genomic approaches can be used to recover high-quality genomes from protists that cannot be grown in the lab, opening new windows into the biology of these poorly characterised organisms.

It is a great opportunity to connect with the international protistology community and share the lab’s contributions to understanding coral-associated protists and marine microbial diversity. If you are attending PROTIST2026 and would like to meet, feel free to get in touch!