PROJECT PARTICIPANTResearch associate Marina Siljic
Dr Marina Siljic does planning, design, implementation and conducting of a research study related to evolution of highly variable RNA viruses, scientific data reporting as well as establishing and further expanding collaboration with national and international institutions.
CAREER IN NUMBERS
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SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
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SKILLSAbout Marina Siljic
Research associate with competencies and skills essential for molecular analyses including sequencing techniques, self-contained scientific research, advanced phylogenetic and statistical analysis in a number of sophisticated softwares, submission of sequences to databases, as well as the practical implications of theoretical systems. It cooperates with national and international Institutes.
If you are solving research question, be a critical thinker not a talker!
Research associate Marina Siljic
PROJECT PARTICIPANT
ACHIEVEMENTSBiography
Dr Marina Siljic is a research associate at the Faculty of Medicine and a doctor of medical sciences in the field of Molecular Medicine. Her career path to the world of virology and phylogenetic analysis began in 2011 within the project of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development entitled “Phylogenetic analysis and molecular evolution in highly variable viruses: coinfections, host-pathogene interactions”, supervised by Prof. virologist Maja Stanojevic. She defended her doctoral dissertation, for which she received an award from the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, entitled “Phylogenetic analysis and molecular characterization of human immunodeficiency virus in Serbia” in English in the presence of an eminent dissertation committee member Prof. virologist Anne–Mieke Vandamme. She acquired knowledge in the field of molecular epidemiology, virology, and advanced phylogenetic analysis at numerous national and international workshops.
Additionally, Marina Siljic was a member of a two-year bilateral project with the People’s Republic of China, during which she had an international engagement at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Zoonoses in Beijing, China. Within the National Reference Laboratory for HIV/AIDS, he researches the molecular epidemiology of HIV, as well as the study of virus resistance to antiretroviral drugs, virus tropism, and HLA typing. During her research work, so far, she has deposited over 350 viral sequences in the GenBank database and thus made them available to other scientific research.
In addition to research activities during 2020 and 2021, she also participated in the molecular diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 at the Institute of virology, vaccines, and serums “Torlak”.
ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
Member of the European Society for Translational Antiretroviral Research (ESAR)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Milic M, Siljic M, Cirkovic V, Jovicevic M, Perovic V, Markovic M, Martic J, Stanojevic M, Mijac V. Colonization with Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria in the First Week of Life among Hospitalized Preterm Neonates in Serbia: Risk Factors and Outcomes. Microorganisms. 2021;9(12):2613.
- Stanojevic M, Cirkovic V, Siljic M, Gligic A, Stamenkovic G. Molecular characterization of Dobrava-Belgrade hantavirus in Serbia, 2007-2011. J Infect Public Health. 2019;12(5):645-649
- Jovanovic L, Siljic M, Cirkovic V, Salemovic D, Pesic-Pavlovic I, Todorovic M, Ranin J, Jevtovic D, Stanojevic M. Exploring Evolutionary and Transmission Dynamics of HIV Epidemic in Serbia:Bridging Socio-Demographic With Phylogenetic Approach. Microbiol. 2019;10:287.
- Stanojević M, Li K, Stamenković G, Ilić B, Paunović M, Pešić B, Maslovara IĐ, Šiljić M, Ćirković V, Zhang Y. Depicting the RNA Virome of Hematophagous Arthropods from Belgrade, Serbia. Viruses. 2020;12(9):975.
- Li K, Stanojević M, Stamenković G, Ilić B, Paunović M, Lu M, Pešić B, Đurić Maslovara I, Siljic M, Cirkovic V, Zhang Y. Insight into diversity of bacteria belonging to the order Rickettsiales in arthropods species collected in Serbia. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):18680.
- Siljic M, Salemovic D, Cirkovic V, Todorovic M, Pesic-Pavlovic I, Ranin J, Jevtovic D, Stanojevic M. High Frequency of Human Leukocyte Antigen-B*57:01 Allele Carriers Among HIV Infected Patients in Serbia. Intervirology 2017, 60(1-2):43-47.7.
- Siljic M, Salemovic D, Cirkovic V, Pesic-Pavlovic I, Ranin J, Todorovic M,Nikolic S, Jevtovic D, Stanojevic M. Forensic application of phylogenetic analyses – Exploration of suspected HIV-1 transmission case. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2017;27:100-105.8.
- Cirkovic V, Stamenkovic G, Jovanovic J, Siljic M, Paunovic M, Stanojevic M. Failure to detect viral RNA in bat samples collected in the Balkan region. Tropical Biomedicine. 2016; 33(4): 1-6.
- Stamenković G, CirkoviC V, Siljic M, Blagojevic J, KneževicA, Joksic I, Stanojevic M. Substitution rate and natural selection in parvovirus B19. Sci Rep. 2016; 6:35759.
- Siljic M, Salemovic D, Jevtovic D, Pesic-Pavlovic I, Zerjav S, Nikolic V, Ranin J, Stanojevic M. Molecular typing of the local HIV-1 epidemic in Serbia. Infect Genet Evol. 2013; 19:378-385.
INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT
2018 – European Workshop on Healthy Living with HIV; Barcelona, Spain.
2017 – Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC); Beijing, China
2017 – 22nd International VEME Bioinformatics Workshop; Lisbon, Portugal
2015 – HIV Virology Workshop: recent advances in molecular methods; Athens, Greece
2012 – Current challenges in treatment of HIV infected patients; 3rd International Workshop; Utrecht, Netherlands
2012 – Janus Programme II – Hepatitis B and C Co-infection; Justri Workshop; Budapest, Hungary
2012 – 17th International VEME Bioinformatics Workshop; Belgrade, Serbia
2014 – three months stay in the Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology Group, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany (Lab Head Prof. Stefan Niemann) for training and performance of spoligotyping, MIRU-VNTR and whole genome sequencing for 115 MDR M. tuberculosis strains isolated in Serbia from 2008 to 2014.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
Award:
2018: Best PhD Thesis Award for the school year 2016∕2017 – on the impact factor > 5 (IF=11) of research papers presented in the thesis defended at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
Grants:
2019: EACS, European AIDS Clinical Society grant: 17th European AIDS Conference; Basel, Switzerland
2019: Virology education grant: European HIV Clinical Forum; Basel, Switzerland.
2019: Virology education grant: Meeting on Viral Hepatitis and HIV; Vilnius, Lithuania
2018: Virology education grant: European HIV Clinical Forum; Glasgow, United Kingdom
2018: Virology education grant: 16th European Meeting on HIV and Hepatitis; Rome, Italy
2018: Virology education grant: European workshop on healthy living with HIV; Barcelona, Spain
2017: Virology education grant: 15th European Meeting on HIV & Hepatitis; Rome, Italy
2012: ESCV (European Society for Clinical Virology) grant: 15th annual meeting of the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) and joint meeting with the European Society for Veterinary Virology (ESVV); Madrid, Spain
EDUCATION
2017 – Ph.D. in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Doctoral dissertation: “Phylogenetic Analyses and Molecular Characterization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Serbia”
Link to dissertation: http://nardus.mpn.gov.rs/handle/123456789/8775?locale-attribute=sr_RS
2010 – PhD studies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Study program „Molecular Medicine”
2009 – M. Sci. in Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Study program “Biology of microorganisms”
