Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade (FMUB)

University website

Ivanka Marković

Department of Molecular Immunology and Microbiology
ivanka.markovic at med.bg.ac.rs
Institute of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry
Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
Pasterova 2, 11000 Belgrade
Serbia


ORCID: 0000-0002-7961-3752
Google Scholar
University website

Ivanka Markovic earned her MD in 1992, MSc in Neuroscience in 1995, and PhD in Biochemistry in 1998, all from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Medicine. Following her PhD, she received a fellowship to conduct research at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, University of Heidelberg, Germany. Since 1996, she has pursued an academic career at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, starting as a Teaching and Research Assistant. In 2015, she was appointed Full Professor of Biochemistry, and in 2021, she was elected Vice-Dean for Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Quality Assurance for a three-year term.

Her research group focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, with a particular emphasis on the role of energy-modulating signaling pathways, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation in cell damage associated with Parkinson's disease. One of her significant contributions has been pioneering biomarker testing for neurodegenerative disorders in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in Serbia. Her ongoing research extends to identifying biomarkers in both blood and CSF, advancing the early detection and understanding of these diseases.

Special emphasis in her research is dedicated to the role of AMP-activated kinase signaling pathway and its role in regulating cellular function in neurodegeneration. The core of our work is carried out in cell lines and primary cells (cell lines and neurons), but also in patient-derived cells (primary fibroblasts and blood cells). In addition, her aim is to investigate potential biomarkers of the CNS disorders in human samples (serum, CSF, blood cells), and possible applications of flow-cytometry and high-resolution respirometry.

Her research has been funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. In 2019, she was honored with the Annual Award for Scientific Excellence from the Serbian Medical Association. She was a mentor of 7 PhD candidates that have successfully completed their theses. Since 2024, she has been an elected member of the FENS Committee for Higher Education and Training (CHET).

Dušan Popadić

dusan.popadic at med.bg.ac.rs
Institute of Microbiology and Immunology
Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
Dr Subotića 1, 11000 Belgrade
Serbia


ORCID: 0000-0002-7502-1709
University website

Dušan Popadić earned his MD degree in 1992, his MSc degree in immunology in 1997 and completed his PhD in immunology in 2001, all from University of Belgrade, Faculty of Medicine. After completing his MD degree, in 1993 till 1996 he was employed as research associate position in Institute for Molecular biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Free University Berlin, Germany. He pursued his academic career at the Institute for Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, since 1996 (as Teaching and Research Assistant). In 2001 he was awarded one year Postdoctoral research fellow at dept. Virology St Barth's and Royal London school of Medicine QMW college, Westsmithfield, London UK. In 2017, he was appointed full professor of Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and in 2021, he was elected as the Vice-Dean for undergraduate studies for a 3-year period.

His research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms of neuroinflammation, with particular emphasis on the genetics and the cytokine network between lymphocytes and central nervous system cells. Among his interests are searching for biomarkers of neuroinflammation in peripheral blood, contributing to advancements in the early detection and understanding of neuroinflammatory diseases.

The core of his work is carried out in primary cells particularly blood cells at the mRNA level but also with extensive application of flow-cytometry.

His research has been funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia. He received the Annual Award for improvement of teaching by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade in 2015. He was a mentor of 4 PhD candidates that have successfully completed their theses.