Within the project DOK-NPOO-2023-10-5459 Career Development of Young Researchers – Training of New Doctoral Candidates, the employment of research assistant Iva Vojtkuf at the Ruđer Bošković Institute is funded, where she conducts research as part of the MALENA project. The research is focused on the study of microbial communities in freshwater ecosystems using modern methods in microbial ecology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. By applying advanced sequencing technologies and data analysis approaches, the aim is to better understand the structure and functional potential of microorganisms in lake ecosystems and their response to environmental changes.