Dr Milena Čavić
Principal research fellow
President of the SDIR Executive Committee
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia / www.ncrc.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Milena Čavić holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and a MSc in Management in the Healthcare system from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is currently employed at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia as a Principal Research Fellow. Her current research focus involves investigating molecular mechanisms of response and resistance to anticancer therapies, as well as the advancement and implementation of cancer early detection and screening programs. Dr Cavic serves as the Chair of the Diagnostics Working Group of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)’s Screening & Early Detection Committee. She is a coordinator and principal investigator in Horizon Europe projects. Dr Cavic is a (co)author of over 60 scientific publications and has served as an expert evaluator of proposals in Horizon (Life sciences panel) and European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) programs. In 2024, Dr Cavic participated in the establishment of the first national Master of Science Bioinformatics program at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is passionately involved in the education of young scientists as a lecturer and mentor at the University of Belgrade, Serbia and University of Barcelona, Spain. Her efforts are also directed towards implementation of strategies for dealing with inequity in cancer research and healthcare.
Dr Ivana Matić
Principal research fellow
Vice-president of the SDIR
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
www.ncrc.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Ivana Matić was born on March 21, 1983 in Belgrade, Serbia. She obtained degree Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Physiology at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade in 2009 and finished her graduate studies with an average grade of 9,66. Ivana obtained a doctoral degree – Ph.D. in Biology/Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade in 2013 and had the maximum average grade of 10,00. Ivana Matić is employed at the Laboratory for Radiobiology and Experimental Oncology (former Laboratory for Biological Response Modifiers) of the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia since 2009. She is a Principal Research Fellow since 2025. Her research interest is focused on experimental oncology, molecular biology of cancer, and radiobiology. Ivana Matić participated in two national scientific projects and two COST actions. She is a member of the Serbian research group for cooperation with the Radiogenomics Consortium. Ivana was a leader of the team who received a grant for the realization of a research project in the field of radiobiology from the Center for Leadership Development in May 2017. Ivana Matić is a leading researcher of the Horizon Europe project “Twinning to skyrocket scientific excellence towards individual radiosensitivity prediction by raising the bar in knowledge transfer, networking, and technological innovation in radiobiology”, RadExIORSBoost, Project Number 101158832, programme HORIZON EUROPE, call HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ACCESS-02. Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia is a project coordinator. Ivana was a mentor of one Ph.D. thesis at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, and one Ph.D. thesis at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. She is currently mentor of two Ph.D. students. Ivana participated in three Commissions for doctoral thesis defense. She has published 79 original research articles in international scientific journals; her h-index is 21 according to the SCOPUS database. Ivana is a member and secretary of the Serbian Association for Cancer Research (SDIR) since SDIR was founded in 2010. She is a member of the SDIR Executive Committee since 2014. Currently, she is a vice-president of the SDIR Executive Committee.
Dr Ana Damjanović Veličković
Senior Research Associate
Secretary of SDIR
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia / www.ncrc.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Ana Damjanović Veličković is a Senior Research Associate specializing in cancer biology and molecular genetics. She obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. She is currently employed at the Laboratory for Molecular Genetics at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, where she is actively involved in diagnostic genetic testing across various types of cancer. Dr. Damjanović Veličković previously worked as a cancer researcher at the Laboratory for Biological Response Modifiers at the same institute. Her research focuses on cancer cell biology, the evaluation of anticancer potential of newly synthesized and natural compounds, mechanisms of apoptosis, and molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to cancer therapies. Her work aims to contribute to the development of more effective and personalized therapeutic strategies. In addition to her doctoral education, she completed academic specialization studies in Biological Medicines at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, further expanding her expertise in modern therapeutic approaches. Dr. Damjanović Veličković is actively engaged in mentoring students and young researchers from the University of Belgrade, supporting the development of future scientists in the field of oncology and molecular medicine. She also contributed to the establishment of the first official scientific journal of the Serbian Association for Cancer Research, Oncology Insights, where she currently serves as Managing Editor. Through this role, she participates in promoting scientific excellence and fostering collaboration within the oncology research community. She has authored and co-authored more than 30 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed international journals and regularly participates in national and international scientific conferences. Her professional interests include translational cancer research, molecular diagnostics, targeted therapies, and the exploration of novel biomarkers for cancer detection and treatment monitoring.
Dr Miljana Tanić
Principal research fellow
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
www.ncrc.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Miljana Tanić is a molecular biologist with a PhD in human cancer genetics from the Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain. She gained international scientific experience at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, Columbia University, Aarhus Hospital and the UCL Cancer Institute where she performed her post doc studies. Dr Tanić’s research investigates the molecular mechanisms of resistance to therapy and evolution of epigenetic landscape in various cancer types. She has experience in developing new methods for high-throughput miRNA screening and targeted bisulfite sequencing of circulating tumor DNA. Currently, her focus is to develop and apply new epigenetic biomarkers for tracking systemic therapy resistance through the application of high-throughput genomics, genetic epidemiology, and bioinformatics methods, complemented by functional studies.
Dr Katarina Zeljić
Associate professor
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology
www.bio.bg.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Katarina Zeljić, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade, has extensive experience in molecular genetics and epigenetics of human pathologies, mainly cancer. Her research interest is mainly focused on molecular biomarkers in cancer, gene association studies – association of gene variants with cancer risk and non-coding RNAs. She obtained PhD from the Faculty of Biology – University of Belgrade in the field of molecular genetics of oral cancer. Since 2011, she has been employed in the Faculty of Biology of the University of Belgrade, first as a teaching associate, assistant, assistant professor, and associate professor since December 2017. Dr Zeljic is an independent professor for the courses Basics of medical genetics and Advanced medical genetics at undergraduate and master studies, respectively. She has supervised several masters and doctoral thesis. Dr Katarina Zeljic was trained at the Cancer Research Centre at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden in 2014 during her research visit. In 2013 she has been awarded by L’Oreal-UNESCO fellowship “For Women in Science” for outstanding achievements. In a period of 2017-2019, dr Katarina Zeljić has completed a master's degree in bioethics at Clarkson University, United States as a scholar of US National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center. She is the author of 30 scientific papers cited more than 500 times, h-index 15.
Dr Jelena Grahovac
Senior Research Associate
Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia
www.ncrc.ac.rs
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Jelena Grahovac is a molecular biologist with a PhD in Integrative Molecular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, USA. During her postdoctoral training in Tumor Pathophysiology at the Radiation Oncology Department at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, she started studying pancreatic cancer, more specifically looking at the tumor as a pathologically changed organ, with potential therapy targets present not only in cancer cells but also in the tumor microenvironment. Dr Grahovac is a Research Associate Professor at the Experimental Oncology Department at the Institute for Oncology and radiology of Serbia where she leads research projects in repurposing of drugs for pancreatic cancer treatment, development of ex vivo tumor models, and the role the patient sex may have in tumor development and response to therapy.
Dr Jovana Despotović
Research Associate
University of Belgrade – Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering
www.imgge.bg.ac.rs/en/
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Jovana Despotović PhD, is a molecular biologist at the Group for Gene Regulation in Cancer at the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade whose research focuses on gene regulation in tumors, particularly colorectal cancer (CRC). She earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade. She defended her PhD thesis in 2022, on functional analysis of microRNAs involved in the regulation of the TGFβ signaling pathway and their role in the therapeutic response of metastatic CRC. Since 2015, she has been employed at the IMGGE, where she works as a research associate. She has participated in national and international projects, including the Program for Excellent Projects of Young Researchers of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (SFRS), a strategic project of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, bilateral cooperation with Germany, as well as COST Actions focused on CRC, RNA communication, and translational control in cancer. She is the principal investigator of the LiveRNA project, funded by the SFRS, focusing on CRISPR-Cas13 technology for real-time visualization and downregulation of RNA expression. She received research training at institutes in Spain and Germany. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the national L’Oreal-UNESCO “For Women in Science” fellowship and the Goran Ljubijankić Foundation awards for the best master’s and doctoral theses in molecular biology. She is the author of several scientific publications in the field of molecular oncology. In recent years, she has focused on elucidating the roles of non-coding RNAs in the development and progression of human cancers, as well as their application as biomarkers. She actively participates in science promotion through lectures, science festivals, and professional training. She is a member of the Serbian Society for Molecular Biology, Serbian Association for Cancer Research, Federation of European Biochemical Societies, and serves as a member and ambassador of the European Association for Cancer Research.