From Microscopy to AI: CERIT-SC Showcases AlphaFind to Brno’s Scientific Community

Brno is one of the world's leading centres of electron microscopy, thanks in part to close collaboration between researchers, technology companies and research institutions. The Brnoregion Microscopy platform supports this community by encouraging networking and the exchange of ideas, including through events such as 120 seconds: Meet the Brnoregion Microscopy, held on 15 October 2026 at CEITEC BUT in Brno. The concept is simple: participants have just two minutes to present their research, technology or innovation, opening the door to new connections and potential collaborations.

AlphaFind, developed by the CERIT-SC team around Terézia Slanináková at Masaryk University, combines artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and high-performance computing infrastructure. Put simply, it works like "Google for proteins" – searching hundreds of millions of protein structures from the AlphaFold DB database in seconds to identify structural similarities. This helps researchers better understand biological structures and their relationships, with potential applications in disease research and drug development. In electron microscopy, AlphaFind is particularly valuable for placing experimentally determined structures into the broader context of AI-predicted protein structures.

The presentation of CERIT-SC and AlphaFind brought a fresh perspective on the potential of artificial intelligence in research to Brno's microscopy community, creating opportunities to exchange experiences and explore new connections across scientific disciplines.