Maja Šetinc

Maja Šetinc is a researcher at the Institute of Anthropology in Zagreb, affiliated with the University of Zagreb. With a Doctor of Science degree in Biology (2024) and Master/Bachelor degrees in Molecular Biology (2019/2016), she specializes in genetic determinants of longevity, telomere biology, and population genetics.

• PhD dissertation: "Biological determinants of longevity in the Croatian population of very old people"
• Master's thesis: "Cloning of the Jagged1 ligand and its influence on lymphocyte proliferation"

Her research focuses on:

• Genetic interactions in aging
• DNA damage pathways in oldest-old populations
• Population genetic comparisons (Croatian Roma vs general population)
• Pharmacogenetic distinctions
• BiCePs_Nutrition project (2024-2028): biological, sociocultural, and psychological determinants of nutritional status
• BioAntroPoP project (2024-2028): applied bioanthropology in contemporary and ancient populations

Notable awards:

• 2024 L'Oréal-UNESCO 'For Women in Science' Award
• 2022 EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant

Technical expertise includes molecular methods for nucleic acid/protein analysis, CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, telomere length measurement, cell culture, and statistical analysis of polymorphisms, gene linkage, and health data.