معرفی
Marta Popović is a Senior Research Associate and Assistant Professor at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Croatia, leading the Laboratory for Molecular Ecotoxicology. Her research focuses on DNA-protein crosslink repair using CRISPR/Cas9 and zebrafish (Danio rerio) models, with recent expansions into Cryo-EM for structural characterization.
- PhD in Molecular Biosciences (2014), MSc in Environmental Sciences (2007), MSc in Biology (2005)
- Recipient of prestigious scholarships including Chevening (2006/2007) and City of Zagreb (2002–2004)
Her DNA repair work has revealed specialized proteolysis-dependent pathways, distinguishing SPRTN/Wss1 proteases as central to crosslink resolution. She has supervised 3 PhD, 1 Master’s, and 3 Bachelor/Erasmus students, with prior co-supervision of 2 PhDs and 1 Master’s student.
Her publications (25 in Q1 journals) span protease mechanisms, transporter biology, and genomic instability, appearing in journals like Nature Communications and Molecular Cell. Current projects include a Slovenian-Croatian bilateral grant (IPS-2020-01) and Croatian Science Foundation Installation Grant (U1P-2017-05-5258).
Scientific recognition includes the 2014 Zeljko Trgovcevic Award for best young researcher publication, 2013 FEBS-EMBO-IUBMB scholarship for Spetsai Summer School, and multiple conference presentation awards. She actively engages in public science communication, including a 2020 Croatian Radio 1 interview on CRISPR/Cas9.
Marta’s lab website (Popovic Lab) details her team’s work on DPCR pathways and their implications for cancer, neurodegeneration, and premature aging. She serves as Associate Guest Editor for the Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology special issue on genome instability.
