Integrating Neandertal Legacy: From Past to Present
Population changes and co-existence in the middle and southwestern part of the Carpathian Basin in the Avar Period (6th-9th centuries AD)
Duration: March 1st 2017 – February 28th 2019
Principal investigators:
Mario Novak, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Tamás Hajdu, PhD, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Project team members:
Ivor Janković, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Željka Bedić, PhD, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
Vlasta Vyroubal, PhD, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia
Mislav Čavka, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Antónia Marcsik, PhD, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
Orsolya László, MSc, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Tamás Szeniczey, MSc, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Zsolt Bernert, MSc, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungray
Abstract:
Avars, population descending from Asia, came to the Carpathian Basin in 568 and in a short period of time, they conquered the entire region and united many German tribes and late antique natives under their rule. In the first third of the 7th century in southwestern Transdanubia and continental Croatia (the area north of Sava River), along with Avars, the Slavs also appear. In the first permanent settlements, Avars and Slavs lived together, and the members of both populations were buried in the cemeteries. This assimilation process resulted in the creation of a mixed, so-called Avaroslavic material culture, especially in the period of the Second Avar Khaganate (8th and beginning of 9th century). Historical and archaeological data show mutual relations and numerous cultural and social similarities and connections between Transdanubia and continental Croatia during the early Middle Ages. However, joint Hungarian-Croatian bioarchaeological study focusing on this period hasn’t been conducted yet. There are no known relations between Hungarian and Croatian anthropological material from that period because direct paleodemographic and paleopathological comparisons have never been performed. In this context, the proposed project will for the first time enable the study of numerous biological, but also social and cultural processes that took place in this area between the 6th and 9th century, regardless of the modern frontiers. This project will:
1) identify possible biological links between Avaroslavic populations from continental Croatia and Eastern and Western Transdanubia;
2) to reconstruct the presumed population movement and assimilation of the Avars and Slavs that had different origins;
3) to find possible similarities and differences in demographic characteristics, lifestyle and general health among the Avaroslavic populations north and south of the Drava River.
(2017– 2019, Bilateral program of scientific cooperation: Croatia-Hungary, Principal Investigator Dr. Mario Novak)
Smart Integration of Genetics with Sciences of the Past in Croatia: Minding and Mending the Gap
Horizon 2020 (H2020-TWINN-2015)
Web: http://mendthegap.agr.hr/
(692249 – MendTheGap)
Project duration: 1 February 2016 – 31 January 2019
Coordinator: CrEAMA (Croatian Eastern-Adriatic MIT disciplinary Archaeology Initiative)
(University of Zagreb Faculty of Agronomy, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Anthropological Research, University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Croatian Natural History Museum, Cultural Centre Vela Luka)
Partners:
University of Cambridge (Cambridge, Great Britain)
University of Pisa (Pisa, Italy)
Summary of the project:
This project is an innovative opportunity to mend several gaps in the research capacity in Croatia in Archaeology, Genetics, and other ‘Sciences of the Past’ by twinning a consortium of Croatian researchers (CrEAMA Initiative) with archaeological scientists from the University of Cambridge (UCAM) and the University of Pisa (UP). The project exploits location-specific advantages that arise from two crucial facts. Firstly, there is large number of archaeological sites and remains in Croatia that are relatively understudied. Secondly there is a group of researchers (CrEAMA Initiative) whose research capacity, impact, and grant success at the European level has not realised full potential owing to a relative lack of resources, coordination, and strategic planning. This project will unlock this latent scientific potential by developing multi-inter-trans- disciplinary (MIT disciplinary) expertise. Our ultimate vision is to develop a research group capable of using an MIT disciplinary approach to Sciences of the Past; this will be a powerful force for innovation and will contribute to resolving contemporary issues. This vision will be realised through support from our partners: the UCAM and the UP. Both institutions display success in Archaeology, Genetics and other Sciences of the Past, and have proven track records in applying for and completing EU-funded research projects. The first goal is to establish and integrate the existing MIT disciplinary scientific research community in Croatia. The second goal is to upgrade and intensify scientific research of CrEAMA Initiative by utilising recent methodological achievements in genetics (NGS) and other biological disciplines (GMM). The third goal is to foster integration of the CrEAMA Initiative into ERA. Our last goal is to commercialise and integrate the CrEAMA Initiative research with the needs of society (local community) at the local (Korčula Island), regional (Dalmatia), national, European (web) and global (web) level.
(2016 – 2019, HORIZON 2020, Principal Investigator Prof. Stašo Forenbaher)
Integrated GWAS and EWAS of Cardiometabolic Traits in an Island Population
Project title: “Integrated GWAS and EWAS of Cardiometabolic Traits in an Island Population”
Project leader: Saša Missoni, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Participating institutions: Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Duration of the project: 2017
Brief description:
The main objective of the proposed research is to determine genetic and environmental factors underlying the development of metabolic syndrome in the population of Hvar Island, which was selected as an excellent model for its long-term genetic isolation, the increased incidence of certain metabolic disorders and well-preserved genealogical records of the islanders. This study is a continuation of the project from 2007 and 2008 in a population of 700 of the same participants, and the goal is to compare the changes in epigenetic characteristics over the last 10 years (2007-2008. Vs. 2017). The collected samples will be analyzed for epigenetic modifications (epigenome-wide methylation analysis – EWAS) and obtained results will be integrated with the results of earlier genome-wide association study (GWAS), to detect a correlation of genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to development of cardiometabolic disorders.
(2016 – 2017, National Institute of Health, Principal Investigator Dr. Saša Missoni)
Petar Klepac – Hero with Two Homelands
Petar Klepac – Hero with Two Homelands
Duration: 2015 – 2017
Principal investigators:
Ana Perinić Lewis, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Saša Poljak Istenič, PhD, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology of SASA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Partners:
Jelena Marković, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Nataša Polgar, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Morana Jarec, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Adžija, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Monika Kropej Telban, PhD, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology of SASA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Saša Babič, PhD, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology of SASA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Katarina Šrimpf, PhD, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology of SASA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Anja Moric, PhD, Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Marko Smole, Ethnological collection Palčava šiša, Plešce, Croatia
Abstract:
Joint project focuses on the narrative tradition on the folk and literary protagonist Petar Klepac from the Kupa and Čabranka Valley. Oral narrative tradition continued despite the establishment of the state border between Slovenia and Croatia. New border has, however, influenced its development, transmission and occurrence in contemporary written records and narrations. The project explores how the images of this traditional hero and narratives about him have become a part of contemporary regional and local identifications and representations of culture and heritage in the border region.
(2015 – 2017, Bilateral program of scientific collaboration Croatia – Slovenia, Principal Investigator Dr. Ana Perinić Lewis)
Historical Perspectives on Transnationalism and Intercultural Dialogue in the Multilingual Adriatic Littoral
Project title: Historical Perspectives on Transnationalism and Intercultural Dialogue in the Multilingual Adriatic Littoral
Principal Investigator: prof. dr. sc. Anita Sujoldžić
Host institution: Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb
Duration: 2014. – 2015.
Funded by: Ministry of Science, Education and Sport of the Republic of Croatia
Researchers:
Gualtiero Boaglio, University of Vienna
Andreas Gottsmann, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Claudia Berger, University of Vienna
Olga Orlić, Institute for Anthropological Research
Josip Lah, Institute for Anthropological Research
Anja Iveković Martinis, Institute for Anthropological Research
Project description:
Historical legacies of cultural encounters have an impact on concerns about European identity and intercultural dialogue in Europe today. The multicultural and multilingual composition of the Habsburg Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century presents a challenging historical legacy of a set of multiple and alternate allegiances which merit reconsideration from the present point of view and on the basis of more empirically grounded research. However, scholarship on the Habsburg Empire has been predominantly concerned with nationalism and national tensions and has not paid due attention to what were, well into the 1900s, still firmly interconnected social spaces which cut across anachronistically drawn linguistic, “ethno-national” lines and where multiple allegiances (imperial, national, provincial or local) with both cosmopolitan and culturally contingent loyalties could be found. To uncover such past lived forms requires an alternative approach and a re-creation of intercultural identities denied by the modernist discourse of national, linguistic and religious hierarchies.
The Adriatic Littoral of the Habsburg Monarchy is a perfect example of such a multilingual imperial space of intensive cultural exchange and economic mobility. The constitutional era after 1867 brought vibrant urbanization and industrialization to this area, which facilitated mobility and immigration of military personnel, civil servants and other professions from diverse parts of the Empire, while better access to schooling led to urbanization of the populations coming from rural areas in the region. This mixture of people drew on the practices of their various places of origin, in order to organize social relations, labour and trade. The project is aimed at exploring the interactions between hegemonic discourses and the patterns of transnational interactions and mobility that shaped intercultural dialogue in the Adriatic Littoral during the late Austro-Hungarian Empire. The main goal is to provide a new way of learning from the past about strategies concerning the recognition of difference and ways of overcoming social tensions, such as shared cultural practices and cultural forms of cross-communal ties, in order to facilitate EU integration. Our specific objective is to provide a contrastive reading of Austro-German, Italian and Slavic sources illuminating both established discourses of knowledge production, as well as counter-discourses, and their reception by common people. The second objective is to demonstrate the inadequacy of ethnic categories for historical analysis and to uncover the fluid cultural identities and multiple loyalties that were characteristic of the Adriatic urban population in this period.
- Historical Perspectives on Transnationalism and Intercultural Dialogue in the Multilingual Adriatic Littoral
(2014 – 2015, Bilateral program of scientific cooperation: Croatia – Austria, Principal Investigator Prof. Anita Sujoldžić)
Genetic and environmental factors of insulin resistance syndrome and its long term complication in immigrant Mediterranean populations (MEDIGENE)
Project title: Genetic and environmental factors of insulin resistance syndrome and its long term complication in immigrant Mediterranean populations (MEDIGENE)
Duration: 2012 – 2015
Project number: FP7-279171-1
Project website: http://www.medigene-fp7.eu/
Project manager: Christophe Normand, University Montpellier 1 (UM1), Montpellier, France
Project coordinator: Florin Grigorescu, University Montpellier 1 (UM1), Montpellier, France
Partners:
- Universite Lyon 1 Claude Bernard, Fédération d’Endocrinologie, HOPITAL NEURO-CARDIO, Lyon-Bron, France;
- Centro De Investigacion Biomedica En Red De Diabetes Y Enfermedades Metabolicas (CIBERDEM), Laboratory of Diabetes and Obesity (IDIBAPS), Mallorca, BARCELONA, Spain;
- Catalan Insitute Of Classic Archeology, Tarragona, Spain;
- University Of Medicine And Pharmacy Carol Davila, National Institute of Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology Laboaratory, Bucharest, Romania;
- Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia (Principal investigator of the Croatian team: dr. Saša Missoni);
- Alma Mater Studiorum-Universita Di Bologna, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy;
- Magna Graecia University Of Catanzaro, Laboratory of Internal Medicine, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Catanzaro, Italy;
- Scientific Institute Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza, Department of Clinical Science, Rome, Italy;
- Universita Degli Studi Di Roma Tor Vergata, Department of Internal Medicine, Rome, Italy
- Ioannina University, Department of Endocrinology, Ioannina, Greece;
- Institute Of Biochemistry And Genetics, Ufa Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Bashkortostan, Russia;
- Institut Pasteur De Tunis, Research Unit on Genetic Orphan Diseases, Tunis, Tunis;
- Univesity Of Alger 1, Laboratoire de Biochimie Génétique (LABIOGEN), Alger, Algeria;
- Institut Pasteur Du Maroc, Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire Humaine, Casablanca, Morocco;
- University Hospital Of Tirana, Endocrinology Division, Tirana, Albania;
- BC Platforms Ltd;
- PersonMed Ltd, Pecs, Hungary;
- Istanbul University, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Millet Caddesi, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey.
MEDIGENE is funded by EC to study genetic and environmental determinants of metabolic syndrome in immigrant Mediterranean populations. The authors make a distinction between ancestral, historical and actual migrations intend to use archeogenetic data to understand the genetic heterogeneity of Europe. The fundamental idea of MEDIGENE is to use the genetic architecture of Mediterranean populations to better stratify populations in Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) by using Y chromosome, mitochondrial DNA and Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) thus bringing together competences of anthropologists, geneticists and demographists in the effort to uncover genetic susceptibility for insulin resistance.
Objectives: (1) to characterize the genetic landscape of Southern Europe, Balkans, Anatolia and North Africa; (2) to study the variability of 150 candidate genes in both natives and immigrant populations; (3) to search for potential new genes and gene-environment interaction for metabolic syndrome.
Populations: Albanese (Illyrians) migrated in Northern Italy and Greece; Turkish (Altaic populations) forming a large community in Lyon (France); Romanian (Geto-Thracic populations from the Carpato-Danubian basin) exceptionally sedentary for millennia who recently immigrated in Spain; immigrants from North Africa (Berbers admixed with Bedouin tribes or Canaanite-Phoenicians in historical times) such as Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans immigrated in France.
Methodology: Genes will be studied by GWAS and locus refining using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and haplotype mapping together with phylogenetic analysis. Informative filtered SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) will be used to replicate findings in home countries (Anatolia and North Africa).
Expected impact: To ameliorate the GWAS association signal by increasing power and better explaining heritability in population. MEDIGENE program will consider the metabolic syndrome on a broader perspective as adaptation of humans in relation with fertility, population density, social competitiveness and hierarchy or rural to urban transitions and expected findings will have consequences in understanding the way of life of different people with respect of their way of life.
- Genetic and environmental factors of insulin resistance syndrome and its long term complication in immigrant Mediterranean populations (MEDIGENE)
(2012 – 2015, European Commission, Seventh Framework Programme, Principal Investigator Dr. Saša Missoni)
Biological and Biomechanical Characteristics of Sprint Running
Project title: Biological and Biomechanical Characteristics of Sprint Running
Type of project: joint collaborative investigation
Principal Investigators:
The Laboratory of Kinanthropometry of the Dep. Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy: Prof. Emanuela Gualdi, Drs. Luciana Zaccagni and Davide Barbieri
Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia: Drs. Saša Missoni and Ivor Janković
Faculty of Kinesiology of the University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia: Profs. Igor Jukić and Vesna Babić
Researchers:
Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia: Dr. Joško Sindik
The investigation utilizes various lab procedures starting from data collection on Croatian athletes to molecular and statistical analyses at the University of Ferrara in order to determine biological and biomechanical characteristics of professional athletes – sprint runners.
Publications:
- Sindik, J., Babić, V., Missoni, S. (2015). Psychological Aspects of Top Croatian Sprint Runners: Athletic Engagement and Athletic Identity. In: Advances in Sports Research. Linton, E.S. (ur.). New York: NOVA Publishers, str. 81-99. ISBN: 978-1-63483-798-9
- Babić, V., Šarac, J., Missoni, S., Sindik, J. (2015). Athletic Engagement and Athletic Identity in Top Croatian Sprint Runners. Collegium antropologicum, 39(3), 521-528. (izvorni znanstveni rad) ISSN 0353-3735
(2013 – 2014, University of Ferrara, Italija, Principal Investigator Dr. Saša Missoni)
Obesity in Croatian Roma: The Interaction of Leptin System Genes and Nutritional Status Biomarkers in Different Environment
Reference: 2012-36/2013-E7, Nutricia Research Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands(www.nutricia-research-foundation.org). Nutricia Research Foundation is the independent charity organization founded for the advancement of research in human nutrition.
Duration: 2012-2013
Principal investigator: Tatjana Škarić-Jurić
Researcher
Marijana Peričić Salihović
na Smolej Narančić
Branka Janićijević
Jasna Miličić
Ana Barešić
Željka Tomas
Matea Zajc Petranović
Abstract:
The main goal of this project is to investigate how the change of lifestyle affects the expression of genetic risks associated with obesity. The Roma (Gypsy) presents promising model population for detection of such changes since they started to experience the transition from traditional to westernized lifestyle within the context of developed societies. Since socio-economical transition is accompanied with lifestyle, nutritional, demographic, and, finally, epidemiological transition, it is highly important to detect such environmental changes that are connected with additional health risks.
- Obesity in Croatian Roma: The Interaction of Leptin System Genes and Nutritional Status Biomarkers in Different Environment
(2012 – 2013, Nutricia Research Foundation, Principal Investigator Prof. Tatjana Škarić-Jurić)
The Neandertal Genome Project
Project title: The Neandertal Genome Project
Principal investigator: Prof. Svante Paabo, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
Principal investigator of the Croatian team: Academician Pavao Rudan
Partners:
Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy
An international consortium of researchers has sequenced the genome of our closest relative, the Neandertal.
In a paper released in Science on May 7, 2010 the team reports the sequencing of an initial draft of the genome. The sequence was generated from several Neandertal fossils from Croatia, Germany, Spain and Russia using high-throughput sequencing technologies.
Results indicate that Neandertals are slightly more closely related to modern humans outside Africa. The team also identified several genomic regions that appear to have played an important role during human evolution.
(2008 – 2011, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
Languages in a Network of European Excellence (LINEE)
Languages in a Network of European Excellence (LINEE)
EC Framework Programme 6, NoE
Duration: 2006-2010
Network web-site: http://www.linee.info/
Partners:
University of Bern (CH), University of Vienna (AT), Charles University, Prague (CZ), Free University of Bozen – Bolzano (IT), Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb (HR), University of Southampton (UK), University of Szeged (HU), University of Applied languages, Munich (DE), Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (PL)
Former partners:
Catholic University of Brussels (BE), University of Latvia (LV)
Anita Sujoldžić (Project leader)
Pavao Rudan
Vesna Muhvić-Dimanovski
Senka Božić-Vrbančić
Mislava Bertoša
Anita Skelin Horvat
Lucija Šimičić
Olga Orlić
Mirna Jernej
Abstract:
LINEE (Languages in a Network of European Excellence) is a European scientific network of 9 European universities, involving around 80 researchers. The general aim of LINEE is to investigate linguistic diversity in Europe in a coherent and interdisciplinary way, by developing an innovative, visible and durable scientific network that can overcome scientific fragmentation and serve as a world-wide quality and knowledge-based reference framework.
In particular, LINEE aims to produce coherent, innovative research results by an interdisciplinary approach, integrate knowledge of partner universities, establish a durable, innovative scientific network, reassess traditional research, and raise the visibility of linguistic diversity in Europe as a key issue in European integration. The research space will be re-defined through the development of new methodological and theoretical platforms, which can serve as benchmarks for a concept of “New Multilingualism”.
Research within LINEE is organized in four Thematic Areas, each divided into three levels of analysis (European, national and regional):
- Language, Identity and Culture: Examines how language, identity and culture relate to each other and by what other factors they might be influenced in which way.
- Language Policy and Planning: Examines the adequacy of the existing language policy and language planning efforts in the EU countries.
- Multilingualism and Education: Examines how young people develop an embracing capacity to behave in a flexible and adequate manner in concrete multilingual contexts.
- Language and Economy: Examines the interplay between language and economy and aims to provide results that can impact on the building of a knowledge-based society.
The scientific activities of the Institute for Anthropological research fell mostly within the Thematic area on Language, Identity and Culture (Supervisor: Professor Anita Sujoldžić), more precisely within the following projects: “Carriers and symbols of European culture and identity”; “Europeanization and the reshaping of cultural tourism and cultural industry”; “Language and concepts of national identity”; “Promoting national identity internationally”;
“Local and regional varieties as markers of identity”; “Politics and strategies of identity in multicultural European cities”.
Because of bridge-building between theory and practice, a focus on conflict neutralisation mechanisms and the dissemination of reliable knowledge to the scientific community and other actors dealing with policy issues, LINEE will also aim to provide unbiased scientific expertise to several actors dealing with multilingualism and multiculturalism, such as policy-makers, scientists, stakeholders addressing language diversity and practitioners.
(2006 – 2010, European Commission, Sixth Framework Programme, Principal Investigator Prof. Anita Sujoldžić)
Status of Croatians in Macedonia and Macedonians in Croatia; Ethnocultural Identity: State and Perspectives
Acronym: MACRO
Partners:
Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb
Institute for Old-Slavic Culture, Prilep
Croatian project staff
Principal investigator: Anita Sujoldžić
Researchers: Pavao Rudan, Lana Peternel, Olga Orlić
Macedonian project staff
Principal investigator: Sonjica Rizoska
Researchers:Ljupčo Risteski, Sonja Zogović, Mirjana Mirčevska, Jelena Cvetanovska
Abstract:
- Status of Croatians in Macedonia and Macedonians in Croatia; Ethnocultural Identity: State and Perspectives
(2007 – 2009, Bilateral program of scientific cooperation: Croatia-Macedonia, 2007-2008, Principal Investigator Prof. Anita Sujoldžić)
Genetics of Metabolic Syndrome in an Island Population
Project title: Genetics of Metabolic Syndrome in an Island Population (2006. – 2008.)
Project number: NIH-R01-DK069845
Research project funded by National institutes of Health, USA
Principal Investigator of the USA team: Prof. Ranjan Deka, Departament of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA
Principal Investigator of the Croatian team: Academician Pavao Rudan, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
(2006 – 2008, National Institutes of Health, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
Population Structure and Genetic History of Western Balkan Roma
Project title: Population Structure and Genetic History of Western Balkan Roma (2005. – 2008.)
Project number: 7349
Principal Investigator: Dr. Irena Martinović Klarić
Funded by Wenner-Gren Foundation, USA.
The field research was focused on the study of the Bayash, a branch of Romanian speaking Roma consisting of numerous groups living dispersedly in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Whereas the study of matrilinear heritage is underway, the origin and molecular architecture and of the Croatian Bayash paternal gene pool has been unveiled. The Bayash in Croatia represent one population of largely shared paternal genetic history characterized by a substantial percentage (44%) of common H1-M82 and E3b1-M78 lineages. Limited diversity of Indian specific H1-M82 lineages imply descent from closely related paternal ancestors from India, whereas substantial percentage of E3b1 lineages and high associated microsatellite variance is a reflection of significant admixture with majority populations from Southeastern Europe. Additional, although modest, traces of admixture are evident in the low frequencies of typical European haplogroups such as J2-M172, R1a-SRY1532, I1a-M253, R1b3-M269, G-M201 and I1b*-P37. Two phenomena are apparent in Croatian Bayash and analyzed European Romani populations: genetic homogeneity as a consequence of massive sharing of identical, ancestral Indian patrilineages in parallel with population differentiation based on variable distribution of less frequent, but typical European patrilineages introduced via more recent episodes of gene flow.
(2005 – 2008, Wenner Gren Foundation, SAD, Principal Investigator Dr. Irena Martinović Klarić)
Cultural sensitivity and competence in adolescent mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention
Duration: 2006-2007
Partners:
University of Bari, Dept. of Statistics, Italy
Institute for Anthropological Research, Croatia
University of Tirana,Albania
University of Tuzla, BH
Scientific coordinator of the Croatian team: Prof. dr. Anita Sujoldžić
Researchers: Dr. Senka Božić, Prof. dr. Vlasta Rudan, Mr. sc. Marlena Plavšić
Project web-site: http://www.fp6migratoryflows.uniba.it/index.htm
Abstract:
The proposed support action will promote the exploitation of the results of the R&D project (ICA2-2002-10006). Within this framework, it is dedicated to the priority in the domain of health of the Call for Support Actions in Western Balkan Countries, focusing on the evidence-based mental health interventions in immigrant/refugee youth through community-based participatory approach and knowledge building that are aimed at increasing capacity of both WBC and Member States countries to minimize the adverse consequences of the post-conflict and post-trauma health problems. In view of these objectives the action is primarily dedicated to incorporate appropriate “best practices” in the project activities, identified by the systematic review of international research literature to be effective in promoting adolescent mental health in cross-cultural populations and raising cultural awareness. The research will be involved in developing and implementing targeted educational, culturally appropriate information kit for youth and their parents, flexible education and training programme and manual on transcultural and migration issues in youth mental health to be delivered in workshop format, seminars or presentations to mental health service providers, social workers, school counselors and ethnic community members. These actions will contribute to visibility of mental health within the general framework of public health in involved WB countries and will help to develop or adapt policy, local service and institutions to the needs of individuals and families from refugee and immigrant background.
Results:
- Cultural sensitivity and competence in adolescent mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention
(2005 – 2007, European Commission, Sixth Framework Programme, Principal Investigator Prof. Anita Sujoldžić)
Mapping genes underlying complex quantitative traits in Croatian isolate population
Principal Investigators:
Medical Research Council, Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh: Prof. Alan Wright, Prof. Andrew Carothers
Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb: Prof. Igor Rudan
The University Court of the University of Edinburgh: Prof. Harry Campbell
Managment Board: Prof. N.D. Hastie, MRC HGU, Dr. Kate Wilson, MRC HGU, Dr. Gordon Murray, EU, Prof. Pavao Rudan, IAR, Prof. Ulf Gyllensten, Uppsala University
Funded by Medical Research Council, Human Genetics Unit, Edinburgh.
The aim of this study is to map and identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) concerned with risk factors to common diseases in an isolate population.
The key factors required for such a study are as follows:
1. Geographic isolation. The islands of the Dalmatian coast are wll established geographic and population studies.
2. Reduced genetic diversity. In the Dalmatian coast isolates, endogamy is high, and was encouraged both by economic and geographic factors. The island populations show a range of inbreeding patterns.
3. Population stability. Generally high, due to low immigration, although i varies depending on locality.
4. Environmental uniformity. The comparative environmental uniformity of this island population, for example in terms of diet, socio-economic status and physical activity, is one of the major advantages of a study in this region.
5. Accurate genealogical information. The church archives have good records dation to the 17th century which allows the construction of accurate pedigrees. Thi is an essential components to the study since most of the power of QTL mapping lies in the use of identify-by-descent (IBD) information.
(2002 – 2005, Medical Research Council, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
Health Problems, Mental Disorders and Cross-Cultural Aspects of Developing Effective Rehabilitation Procedures for the Refugees of the War-Affected Countries
Contract number: ICA2-2002-10006, EC FP5-INCO: International Scientific Cooperation Projects
Duration: 2002-2004
Keywords: adolescents, refugees, acculturation, mental health, sequential traumatization
Administrative coordinator:
Prof. dr. Amelia De Lucia, University of Bari, ITALY
E-mail:adelucia@dss.uniba.it
Scientific coordinator:
Prof. dr. Anita Sujoldzic, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, CROATIA
E-mail:Anita.Sujoldzic@inantro.hr
Contractors:
Prof. dr. Reiner Buchegger, Johannes Kepler Universitat, Austria, E-mail:reiner.buchegger@jku.at
Prof. dr. Rifet Terzić, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, E-mail: rifet.terzic@unitz.ba
Prof. dr. Ibrahim Behluli, University of Prishtina, Medical Faculty, Kosovo, E-mail:ibrahimbehluli@msn.com
Prof. dr. Zyri Bajrami, University of Tirana, Natural Sciences Faculty, Albania, E-mail:zyrib@yahoo.com
Project web-site: http://www.fp6migratoryflows.uniba.it/index.htm
Abstract:
The project is an international comparative study on risk and protective factors of adolescent health and well being, with particular focus on youth with refugee (or immigrant) experience. Related to the quality of life and health outcomes of adolescent youth it looks at group-specific differences within different socio-cultural contexts across six European countries, including those with high long-term immigration rates (Italy and Austria) and those of post-conflict communities (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania). It combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, using a common set-up across all countries involved with the goal of collecting comparable data on adolescents to allow cross-country analyses. Key research questions refer to the assessment of risk and protective factors and resilience affecting psychosocial health of adolescent refugees/immigrants within highly divergent life situations in family, school and community settings, and in highly divergent cultural and contextual settings of different countries. The consideration of the interaction of both developmental intra-personal and inter-personal factors of adolescent integration, as well as its broader ideological, cultural and socio-economic context in particular countries, should help to detect mechanisms that can counterbalance health hazards of “sequential traumatization,” and to implement more efficient preventive mental health rehabilitation programs for these particularly vulnerable victims of post-conflict communitiesAn international standard version of protective and risk factor screening survey as a tool to identify adolescents who may benefit from medical or mental health services was developed. It provides data on the interactive influence of main risk and protective factors identified in different domains, including community, school, family, the peer group, and the individual as well as its consequences on youth outcomes in terms of general health and behavior as well as psychological distress, well-being, and resilience.The total sample collected in all countries involved amounts to over 4800 adolescents who completed the core survey questionnaire in schools.
The obtained results provide important empirical data on the most salient problems connected to psychosocial adjustment and experience of adolescent immigrants and refugees in six countries of resettlement. The study has identified a range of specific risk and protective factors associated with various settings (family, school, community) and additional to those recognized as relevant to adolescents generally, which are uncovering a complex interaction between the young person, their family, and their social, economic and cultural environments.
- Health Problems, Mental Disorders and Cross-Cultural Aspects of Developing Effective Rehabilitation Procedures for the Refugees of the War-Affected Countries
(2002 – 2004, European Commission, Fifth Framework Programme, Principal Investigator Prof. Anita Sujoldžić)
Islands in Transition: Anthropological Analysis
Project title: Islands in Transition: Anthropological Analysis (1999.)
Project number: 98 CRO 305
Funded by: UNESCO Participation Programme
Principal Investigator: Prof. Pavao Rudan
Co-Principal Investigators: Prof. Guy Heyden, Branka Janićijević, Igor Rudan, Nina Smolej Narančić, Anita Sujoldžić, Sanja M. Špoljar-Vržina
Scientific Personnel: Stašo Forenbaher, Irena Martinović Klarić, Jasna Miličić, Vlasta Rudan, Lajos Szirovicza, Lovorka Barać, Snježana Čolić, Tomislav Lauc, Ana Malnar, Marijana Peričić, Diana Rudan
Scientific Consultants: Prof. Paul T. Baker, Prof. Derek F. Roberts, Prof. Robert R. Sokal
The project represents a logical continuation of study of cultural and biological microdifferentiation of rural populations on the Middle Dalmatian island of Hvar in Croatia. Investigations were extended topically and geographically, while maintaining the core of cultural and biological components of the previous research and pursuing the holistic analytic approach in understanding the complexity of MAB problems.
(1999, UNESCO, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
Biological and cultural microdifferentation among rural populations
Project number: SMI-JF 259, Smithsonian Institution, USA
Principal Investigator: Prof. Pavao Rudan
Co-Principal Investigator: Prof. Linda A. Bennett
Consultants: Prof. Paul T. Baker, Prof. Derek F. Roberts, Prof. Robert R. Sokal
Associates: M.K. Gilliland, B. Janićijević, V. Jovanović, J. Miličić, V. Rudan, N. Smolej Narančić, A. Sujoldžić, S.M. Špoljar Vržina, D.M. Waddle, S. Martić Biočina, I. Rudan, S. Čolić, A. Marković Malnar, I. Martinović Klarić, L. Szirovicza, M. Bakran, L. Barać, M. Peričić
The research project included the field work that was carried out by the multidisciplinary research team of the Institute for Anthropological Research. It comprised classical methodology used over the course of last project terms as well as the new DNA analyses. Additionally, the research concerning the problems of refugees and displaced persons was also carried out. It indicated that there is a necessity of conducting the applied anthropological investigations aimed at the benefit of these populations. Since they are influenced by specific and stressful living situations, the population structure changes much faster than it would under conditions normal for the other contemporary populations of Europe.
(1995 – 1998, Smithsonian Institution, SAD, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
The Study and care of refugees families – The pilot study of anthropological and psychodynamic aspects
Project title: The Study and care of refugees families – The pilot study of anthropological and psychodynamic aspects 1994. – 1995.
Project number: 2954-1994, UNESCO
Principal Investigator: Prof. Pavao Rudan
General Supervisor: Prof. Guy Heyden
Co-principal Investigator: Prof. Dubravka Maleš
Senior Personnel:
Snježana Čolić (social anthropology)
Mary K. Gilliland (cultural anthropology)
Branka Janićijević (human genetics)
Veljko Jovanović (mathematical modelling)
Jasna Miličić (human genetics)
Josip Perinić (medical anthropology)
Vlasta Rudan (psychiatrist – psychotherapist)
Nina Smolej Narančić (biological anthropology)
Anita Sujoldžić (cultural anthropology)
Mario Šlaus (forensic anthropology)
Sanja M. Špoljar Vržina (psychodynamic anthropology)
Project represents a multidisciplinary approach in the attempt of identifying crucial problems concerning displaced persons, refugees and their families. Particular emphasis is put on anthropological, psychodynamic and pedagogical study of the latter concerning the island of Hvar in the Eastern Adriatic region of Croatia.
Project focuses on:
1. Problems of integration and assimilation of displaced and refugee populations in communities and with respect to host populations who have different social structures and cultural orientations
2. Evaluation of problems associated with the re-organization of families as a result of loss, primarily of husbandsm fathers and sons
3. Mental health problems of the high risk groups concerning the new circumstances of their living
4. Analysis of the mechanisms of self-organization in coping with changed life situation
5. Studying problems related to all aspects of altered childrearing caused by war, dislocation of civilians, violence and changed qualities of family life
6. Studying some elements of the acculturation process concerning the host-culture population and refugees and displaced persons.
The ultimate goal of the investigation is to produce a model that could be useful for application in other societies/countries which are currently going through similar social and political changes, and in those where the same traumatic processes could occur in the future.
(1994 – 1995, UNESCO, Principal Investigator Prof. Pavao Rudan)
COST ACTIONS – Active
(2019. – 2023., Saša Missoni, PhD, member of Working Group 1)
(2016 – 2020, Saša Missoni, PhD, member of the Management Committee)
(2017 – 2021, Matea Zajc Petranović, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
(2017 – 2021, Olga Orlić, PhD, member of Working Groups 3 and 4)
(2017 – 2021, Jelena Šarac, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
(2018 – 2022, Miran Čoklo, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
(2018 – 2022, Natalija Novokmet, PhD, member of the Management Committee)
(2019 – 2023, Ivor Janković, PhD, member of the Management Committee)
(2018 – 2022, Petra Rajić Šikanjić, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
(2019 – 2023, Luka Bočkor, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
COST ACTIONS – Finished
(2013 – 2015, prolongation to 2019, Morana Jarec, MA, member of the Management Committee)
(2015 – 2019, Anita Sujoldžić, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
(2014 – 2018, Anita Sujoldžić, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee)
