معرفی
Dr. Vanja Bugarski-Stanojević is a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Genetic Research, Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković", University of Belgrade. She has been employed at the institute since December 3rd, 2004, conducting extensive research on subterranean mammals, particularly the European blind mole rat species complex (Nannospalax leucodon). Her work integrates cytogenetic, molecular, and morphological approaches to study evolutionary processes and biodiversity.
Dr. Bugarski-Stanojević earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of Belgrade in 2003 and completed her Ph.D. in Genetics at the same institution in 2010 with a dissertation titled "Molecular phylogeny of species of the genus Apodemus (Mammalia, Rodentia) from Serbia."
Her research focuses on biodiversity conservation, cryptic speciation, karyotype evolution, and the role of chromosomal rearrangements in speciation. She has developed non-invasive molecular genetic methods for differentiating morphologically similar species and detecting cryptic species. A significant portion of her work examines the European blind mole rat as a non-conventional model organism for studying cancer resistance, longevity, and regeneration. She also investigates supernumerary chromosomes in yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis), exploring their structure, transcriptional activity, origin, effects, and inheritance patterns.
Dr. Bugarski-Stanojević's publication record demonstrates consistent research output focused on subterranean mammals, particularly blind mole rats, with emphasis on cryptic speciation, phylogeography, and conservation implications. Her recent work has expanded to include environmental DNA techniques for biodiversity monitoring.
She serves on the editorial board of Frontiers in Genetics (since 2022) and previously served on Molecular Cytogenetics (2017-2022). In 2020-2022, she was Principal Investigator for a bilateral project between Serbia and France titled "Nematostella vectensis (Actinaria, Anthozoa) as a model for the investigation of Usher proteins." She has collaborated with the Institute of Human Genetics at Friedrich Schiller University Jena through DAAD-sponsored projects.
Dr. Bugarski-Stanojević is actively involved in mentoring graduate, undergraduate, and PhD students. Her professional affiliations include the Serbian Biological Society, Serbian Genetic Society, and International Society of Zoological Sciences.
