Fearless Curiosity in Genomics: Meet Judit Szenei

From decoding bacterial genomes to navigating the challenges of data visualization, Judit Szenei is making structure prediction smarter and sharper. In this candid conversation, Judit shares what it’s like to work on the frontlines of natural product discovery, why asking questions (even the “nonsense” ones) is her science superpower, and how AI is transforming her field. She also opens up about the community spirit within the MAGic-MOLFUN network and the unexpected skills that now define her research life. Dive into her story — and her enthusiasm for knowing “what’s going on” in science.

Thursday 10 July 2025

One line summary of your PhD for someone outside NPs field?

My project is about predicting the chemical structures of compounds that are produced by bacteria.

Which part of your work do you enjoy the most (or least!) and why?

My favorite part of being in research is to be constantly updated about what's going on in science and being close to the new technologies that are developed. My least favorite part is visualization. In the big data era it can be challenging to decide which information to highlight and how to structure it.

What’s a skill you didn’t expect to learn, but now use all the time?

I have to look at protein sequences a lot and decide quickly whether it's something worth including in my work. There are some motifs in the sequence that help to make that decision and I didn't expect I would spot these motifs without using a tool or method to highlight them.

What makes being a part of the MAGic-MOLFUN network special for you?

Our doctoral network is special because of the people. We managed to form a very supportive and encouraging community and these kind of connections really boost the research as well.

What direction do you want your career to take after your PhD?

I would like to continue my journey in the public sector and enter the postdoc phase. As AI is transforming many fields it is very exciting to witness how our niche is changing. New approaches, new expertise, different type of data and more information entering our research field. I want to see as it is happening.

What’s your science superpower?

I'm not afraid to ask questions. Sometimes I get the feedback that I ask good questions, sometimes I can clearly see that I asked something nonsense or trivial. Another superpower is that I don't care about what other people think about the question. If I want to know something I will ask anyway.

About Judit Szenei

Judit Szenei is pursuing her PhD under the title “Natural Products Structure Prediction based on Genomic Data.” Her research focuses on improving how we can predict the exact shapes and features of chemical compounds made by bacteria, just by analyzing their DNA. While current tools can identify where interesting biosynthetic pathways are located in the genome, they often fall short of predicting what the resulting molecules might actually look like. Judit’s work aims to bridge that gap by helping antiSMASH, a key tool in the field, simulate and visualize those molecules more accurately, using known biological data and new modeling approaches. Her efforts could one day make it easier to discover useful compounds for medicine, food, and agriculture.