Irena Plahuta, MD, PhD, general surgery specialist || I graduated from general medicine in 2014 at the University of Maribor, Medical Faculty, Slovenia. I obtained my PhD in 2024 at the same institution; my research focused on inflammation in colorectal liver metastases. I have been a specialist in general surgery at University Medical Center Maribor since 2022. It is a tertiary center with specialized teams for hepato-pancreato-biliary, gastric, and colorectal surgery, and we also cover emergency surgery. I am very proud of my PhD article, which required a lot of collaboration within our research team (https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina59112003). I am a member of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, the Slovenian Society of Endoscopic Surgery, and the Slovenian Hernia Society.