Nutrition and Metabolism

The reasearch of the Group is primary focused on analyzing of foods‘ components effects on health, including the studies of nutrients mechanisms of action. The scientific investigations include the following several directions:

  1. Assesment of the dietary intake of different groups of respondents has been implemented using validated questionnaires in accordance with the EU Menu methodology. At the same time, existing data on food and meals in the national and regional database, which are created in previous years as a results of the Group's work in this area, are constantly being updated;
  2. Analysis of dietary intake of fatty acids and their metabolism, is examined by dermining fatty acid compositions in circulation (plasma/serum) and tissues (in animal model studies). The effects of the intake of exogenous substances on the status of fatty acids, especially those with antioxidant properties potential have been intensivly studied, too;
  3. The biological effects of plant bioactive components-polyphenols as well as their metabolites have been examined using in vitro models. Their binding to and influence on the structure and antioxidant properties of albumin, on the function of platelets, i.e. the activation and aggregation of platelets with white blood cells using the flow cytometry method, on parameters which indicate muscle fatigue during intense physical activity have been in focus of the Group recent researches.

NEXT THREE YEARS

Further studies in the aforementioned scientific research directions as well as greater involvement in research on the nutritional properties of the foods themselves are planned expecting that the innovative food products will be created which would improve the quality of the population’s nutrition in the coming period. At the same time, the current knowledge about the influence of the some components of the diet on health could be expanded as the result of planned future studies. The main innovations considering research in next period would be:

  • the future studies in which the content of nutrients like fatty acids, phospholipids and polyphenols, as well as micronutrients (primarily zinc) in foods would be analyzed, are planned with aim to improve the quality of available data about their content;
  • the panel of biomarkers of lipid metabolism and status as well as those related to the development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases could be significantly expanded;
  • it is expected that new in vitro models will be introduced for testing the antioxidant properties of various food components and their interactions with molecules present in circulation.

Head of the Research Group

Senior research associate

Marija Takić

Senior research associate

Marija Takić

Marija Takić is a PhD in biochemistry. The research of biological effects of fatty acids, polyphenols, zinc and other nutrients as well as clarification of their mechanisms of action are her primary field of scientific interest. The changes in fatty acids profiles in different patological conditions (obesity, diabetes, chronic renal disease) have been investigated in her previous studies. Marija Takic has participated as researcher in dietary treatment studies with aronia juice, supplementation of diet with lineseed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, walnuts and soya lecithin. She is interest in exploring the influence of exogeneous ligand binding to human serum albumin on its structure and antioxidant activity.

Email:marija.takic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Group Members

Senior research associate

Marija Takić
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Tamara Popović
Senior research associate

Gordana Oggiano
Research associate

Jelena Milešević
Research associate

Ivana Šarac
Research assistant

Marta Despotović
Research associate

Slavica Ranković
Research associate

Marija Ranić
Research associate

Vuk Stevanović
Jasmina Debeljak-Martačić, PhD
Senior research associate

Jasmina Debeljak Martacic

Senior research associate

Marija Takić

Marija Takić is a PhD in biochemistry. The research of biological effects of fatty acids, polyphenols, zinc and other nutrients as well as clarification of their mechanisms of action are her primary field of scientific interest. The changes in fatty acids profiles in different patological conditions (obesity, diabetes, chronic renal disease) have been investigated in her previous studies. Marija Takic has participated as researcher in dietary treatment studies with aronia juice, supplementation of diet with lineseed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, walnuts and soya lecithin. She is interest in exploring the influence of exogeneous ligand binding to human serum albumin on its structure and antioxidant activity.

Email:marija.takic@imi.bg.ac.rs

PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW

Tamara Popović

dr Tamara Popović is PhD biochemist, Research Associate Prof working in Institute for medical research from 2000. At the begining her reseach field was cardiovascular phisiology and after 2006 she spread her research to the field of Nutrition and metabolism. Mainly focused in animal model lipid metabolism (in different organs and blood), biochemical blood parameters and parameters of oxidative stress dr Popović was actively focued on several clinical studies (DMT2, obstructive jaundice, colorectal cancer) and results of lipid metabolism and fatty acids profiles in those studies were published. Lately dr Popović studies of different types of food are in experimental focus. Dr Popović participated in all national projects from 2000 as well as in several European projects frame FP6 and FP7 and several COST Projects. Static magnetic field of low capacity and its influence on tissues and organs as well on plant phisiology are in dr Popović experimental focus last 5 years with succesful publications and interesting conclusions. Those studies were conducted with colleges from Institute for physics University in Belgrade. She is very devoted researcher open for new scientific ideas and approaches and most of all she is a team belonging reasearcher.

Email:poptam@imi.bg.ac.rs

Senior research associate

Gordana Oggiano

Gordana Oggiano,, PhD, med. doctor, specialist for prev. medicine, was included in diff.european projects, in human stidies to investigate influence of polifenils on fatty acid profiles and anti-oxidative status, also efect of consumation of 56g nuts per day in exam patients on fatty acid profile, part of work is counseling in dietoterapy

Email:gordana.ogiano@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research associate

Jelena Milešević

Jelena Milešević holds PhD in technology engineering, in food technology, Masters in nutrition and rural development and she is biochemist, engaged in Group for nutrition and metabolism in Center or Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism. Her research focus is in development and research application of food composition and food consumption databases.

Email:jelena.milesevic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research associate

Ivana Šarac

Dr Ivana Šarac graduated Medicine in 1998 at Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. She finished MSci postgraduate studies in Nutrition in 2004 at the same Faculty. She specialized Hygiene in 2006 at Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš. She obtained PhD degree in Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine at University of Surrey, UK, in 2014. In 2016, she joined the Center of Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism Research, at the Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, as Research Associate. Her research interests include: public health nutrition; metabolism; physiopathology and endocrinology of obesity, metabolic syndrome and eating disorders; the role of nutrition in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases (obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer); the role of nutrition in reproductive and immune function; metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates; gender differences in metabolism; research of lipids kinetics by the use of stable isotopes. She is interested in personalized nutrition.

Email:ivana.sarac@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research assistant

Marta Despotović

Marta Despotović is currently working on her PhD thesis in Nutritional Immunology, which aims to compare the effects of different diets on the immune system. Specifically, she is studying the impact of vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore diets on cytokine/hemokine and acute phase protein status, the production of proinflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, nutrient status (including vitamins, minerals and fatty acids), the concentration of eicosanoids and adipokines, and basic biochemical parameters. Her study involves 160 patients, with 80 on a vegetarian diet (including both vegan and vegetarian participants, which will later be separate in 2 groups) and 80 omnivores from Belgrade, Serbia. She is focused on the principle that every individual is unique and requires a personalized and holistic approach to diet and healing, particularly when it comes to treating disease. In her work, she embraces the philosophy that the mind and body are interconnected and that a comprehensive approach is necessary to promote health and wellness. She believes that combining psychology, nutrition and immunology is essential for a complete approach to avoiding and treating diseases.

Email:marta.despotovic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research associate

Slavica Ranković

Slavica Rankovic is a doctor of biological sciences in the group for nutrition and metabolism. Her research is focused on studying the effects of different types of diets, examining the effects of different oils, as well as examining the effects of aronia juice consumption on different animal models (rats, mice, dogs). The investigated effects of different types of diets, oil, chokeberry juice on the profile of fatty acids were determined in different tissues and organs. She was also engaged in research related to the influence of aronia juice consumption on behavior (anxiety and depression) in Wistar rats. She also participated in various human studies. She is currently engaged in the realization of the scientific project of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, Program Ideas, entitled “Identification and functional characterization of extracellular and intracellular genetic regulators of ferroptosis related processes in multiple sclerosis-FerroReg”, scientific area: multiple sclerosis. Slavica Rankovic also contributed to filling and updating the Serbian food composition database.

Email:slavica.rankovic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research associate

Marija Ranić

Marija Ranić is a doctor of biochemical engineering and biotechnology in the Nutrition and Metabolism Group. Her main field of research is nutrition and metabolism and the impact of nutrition on disease prevention and health promotion. Dr Ranic research focus is on the evaluation and reuse of waste products obtained during food preparation, and the use of extracted bioactive components as ingredients for functional foods. Marija is interested in the development of new food recipes and food products from underutilized plant varieties, which includes the creation of new recipes, the development of protocols, and the implementation of sensory evaluation of novel foods by consumers and experts in the nutrition field. Dr Ranić is also involved in spreading excellence through the dissemination of scientific results and media promotion.

Email:marijar@imi.bg.ac.rs

Research associate

Vuk Stevanović

Vuk Stevanović is PhD in Sports science in Group for nutrition and metabolism. His research activities are dedicated to effects of physical activity and diet at cardiovascular protective mechanisms, and muscle adaptation.

Email:vuk.stevanovic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Jasmina Debeljak-Martačić, PhD

Senior research associate

Jasmina Debeljak Martacic

Jasmina Debeljak Martacic is a doctor of biological sciences. She received her doctorate at the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade on a topic related to the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells originating from the dental pulp of children. Jasmina Debeljak Martacic is employed in the group for nutrition and metabolism under the leadership of Dr. Marija Takic.. After obtaining her PhD, her interests changed in the direction of lipids, i.e. fatty acid profiles in different animal models and human pathologies. She is still interested both in work on stem cells and in work on determining the profile of fatty acids in food and on different models. Additionally, she is involved in cooperation with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, specifically with the pathohistology laboratory, on model systems of dogs with atopic dermatitis and epilepsy respectively. She was involved in several European projects related to the formation and maintenance of the first Serbian food composition database. The database is still being updated.

Email:jasmina.martacic@imi.bg.ac.rs

Latest PROJECTS

All projects of this group

Latest RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. Knez M, Ranić M, Gurinović M. Underutilized plants increase biodiversity, improve food and nutrition security, reduce malnutrition, and enhance human health and well-being. Let’s put them back on the plate! Nutr Rev. 2023 Aug 29:nuad103. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuad103. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37643733.
  2. Šarac I, Debeljak-Martačić J, Takić M, Stevanović V, Milešević J, Zeković M, Popović T, Jovanović J, Vidović NK. Associations of fatty acids composition and estimated desaturase activities in erythrocyte phospholipids with biochemical and clinical indicators of cardiometabolic risk in non-diabetic Serbian women: the role of level of adiposity. Front Nutr. 2023 Jul 20;10:1065578. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1065578. PMID: 37545582; PMCID: PMC10397414.
  3. Milešević J, Lilić S, Vranić D, Zeković M, Borović B, Glibetić M, Gurinović M, Milićević D. Dietary Intake of Salt from Meat Products in Serbian Population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 26;20(5):4192. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054192. PMID: 36901203; PMCID: PMC10001836.
  4. Zeković M, Bumbaširević U, Živković M, Pejčić T. Alteration of Lipid Metabolism in Prostate Cancer: Multifaceted Oncologic Implications. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 11;24(2):1391. doi: 10.3390/ijms24021391. PMID: 36674910; PMCID: PMC9863986.
  5. Vidović N, Knez M, Ranić M, Faid F, Jović D, Glibetic M, Takić M. Comparative assessment of erythrocyte sphingolipid levels as potential cardiovascular health markers in women from Libya and Serbia: a small-scale study. Libyan J Med. 2023 Dec;18(1):2264568. doi: 10.1080/19932820.2023.2264568. Epub 2023 Oct 7. PMID: 37804002; PMCID: PMC10561568.

All papers

Interested in working with our research group?

Our team of experts is committed to advancing health and wellness through innovative research.
If you would like to join our team or cooperate with us, please contact us.
We look forward to cooperation with you!

 

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.