We are pleased to announce that Barbara Pernak, a fifth-year medical student, has been awarded 1st Prize in the Clinical Medicine Poster Session at the 21st Young European Scientist (YES) Meeting, held on 17–20 September 2026 in Porto, Portugal.

The award was granted for the poster presentation entitled “Cell-free circulating DNA and its beta-cell-derived fraction are associated with residual insulin secretion during 12 months following diagnosis of stage 3 type 1 diabetes.”

The YES Meeting is an international scientific conference bringing together students and young researchers from across Europe, providing an opportunity to present research findings, exchange ideas, and gain experience in biomedical sciences.

During the conference, Barbara also had the opportunity to meet and speak with Fred Ramsdell, 2025 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, whose pioneering research on regulatory T cells and immune tolerance has contributed significantly to our understanding of autoimmune diseases.