Who We Are
Center for Innovative Therapeutics
Applied Bioenergetics Lab is an inventive, dynamic and multidisciplinary research facility.
It covers research topics from the fields of basic, translational and clinical bioenergetics. The main objective of our lab is to design and scrutinize innovative therapeutics that protect and upgrade mitochondrial bioenergetics and metabolism in health and disease.
By working with different partners, from industry to government, Applied Bioenergetics Lab strives to make scientific endeavor as successful, impactful, and cost-effective as possible!
OUR APPROACH
From designing new chemicals to measuring tissue metabolites and performance
Applied Bioenergetics Lab is carefully furnished with state-of-the-art equipment suitable for investigating and recording a number of biochemical, physiological, psychological and medical outcomes primarily in human participants.
Equipment on- and off-site fueled up by our expertise provides the technology essential to understand (patho)physiology of clinical bioenergetics, but also to monitor a plethora of biomarkers and patient-reported feedbacks in response to specific interventions, thus providing accurate and timely results to clinicians, customers, and for scientific purposes.
OUR TEAM
Multidisciplinary expertise and visionary teamwork for transformative science
Our research staff is composed of clinical and field scientists and technicians with extensive knowledge and experience in the multidisciplinary field of applied bioenergetics, including pre-clinical and clinical medicine, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry and nutrition, exercise science and experimental psychology.
We have all-encompassing personnel that is currently composed of senior and junior faculty members, several postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and laboratory technicians.
Valdemar Stajer
CHIEF LABORATORY TECHNICIAN
Valdemar Stajer, Ph.D, born 1986, is an assistant professor, and a chief laboratory technician, with specific knowledge and skills in biochemistry and exercise physiology. For his doctoral thesis, he studied dynamics of creatine synthesis biomarkers in clinical and athletic environment.
Darinka Korovljev
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Darinka Korovljev, born 1976, has scientific experience from working on implementing different health interventions in aging population. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular hydrogen research from the University of Novi Sad, and has a postdoctoral fellowship in Applied Bioenergetics Lab. Dr Darinka Korovljev manages the lab’s international projects.
Vesna Seper
Postdoc
Vesna Seper, PhD, born 1979, is a postdoc and part-time lab technician. As a certified physiotherapist, her expertise help to run thesis that probed age-related changes in muscle bioenergetics, mainly focused to sarcopenia and muscle-specific interventions.
Dragana Zanini
PhD student
Dragana Zanini, born 1983, is a clinical psychologist, a lab technician and a Ph.D. student. Her thesis looks into a link between inadequate brain bioenergetics and cognitive impairment, and approaches nutritional interventions to tackle low bioenergetics in gray and white mater.
Nikola Todorovic
PhD
Dr. Nikola Todorovic, born 1991, is a lab technician and teaching assistant; he investigates the effects of molecular hydrogen on biomarkers of energy metabolism and health-related lifestyle behaviors in clinical and non-clinical populations.
Marijana Ranisavljev
PhD student
Marijana Ranisavljev, born 1996, is a PhD student, lab technician and teaching assitant; she investigates the effects of nutrition on biochemical and clinical indices of energy metabolism in healthy populations and patients with impaired bioenergetics, including long COVID.
Dejan Javorac
PhD
Dr/ Dejan Javorac, born 1987, is a lab technician and teaching assistant. He explores value of inhalational, topical and oral hydrogen in different pathologies; from athletic performance, to traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Sasa Semeredi
PhD
Sasa Semeredi, PhD, born 1988, a part-time lab technician, analyzes kinetics and value of different amino acid derivatives (such as GAA and creatine) dispensed to improve exercise performance and surrogate markers of bioenergetics in energy-rich tissues.
David Nedeljkovic
Lab Technician
David Nedeljkovic, born in 1997, is a biochemist and a junior lab technician. He collaborates in designing and conducting diverse biochemical analyses, overseeing sample preparation, labeling, and storage. Additionally, he manages equipment maintenance and aids in the procurement of laboratory supplies.
Sonja Baltic
PhD Student
Sonja Baltic, MD, born in 1985, is a PhD student, lab technician, and teaching assistant. Her research focuses on investigating the impact of mitochondria-specific nutrients on biomarkers related to brain metabolism, cognition, and mitochondrial function or dysfunction across various age groups.