Ivana Rajnović

Ivana Rajnović is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb. She leads research in agroecology and teaches courses including Applied Agricultural Microbiology, Soil Fertility, and Wine Microbiology. Her academic qualifications include a PhD (2017) on rhizobial biodiversity in beans and a Master's (2008) on Bradyrhizobium japonicum identification.

Research focuses on:

• Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes
• Genetic selection of stress-tolerant rhizobia
• Indigenous wine yeast characterization
• Microbial responses to climate change stressors like flooding
• Bioremediation using microbial enzymes

Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate strong trends in climate-adaptive microbiology, with 73% analyzing waterlogging/flooding impacts on soil ecosystems and 60% exploring microbial applications in sustainable agriculture. Wine biotechnology and bioremediation each constitute 20% of recent output.

Grant leadership includes:

• PRIMA Program (2020-2023): Legumes in Mediterranean farming systems (Partner)
• Croatian Science Foundation (2021-2025): Bentonite reduction in wine production (Partner)
• EU Climate Adaptation (2020-2023): Rhizosphere microbiome potential (Partner)

She coordinates the Division for Agroecology and maintains international collaborations with institutions in Spain, Italy, and Hungary. Professional memberships include the Croatian Microbiological Society (Treasurer) and Croatian Society of Soil Science.