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The Institute for Anthropological Research is a public research institute based in Zagreb, Croatia, that carries out scientific, expert and educational activity in the field of anthropology as a medical, natural, biotechnological, social and humanistic science. Researchers at the Institute have different basic education (medical doctors, molecular biologists, archaeologists, social anthropologists, forensic scientists, psychologists, chemists, etc.) and are oriented towards anthropology during their PhD studies or through their research projects. Such diverse profiles of the Institute’s staff allows inter- and multidisciplinarity in designing and implementing research. The Institute possesses rich biobank and human skeletal collections. The Institute’s activities are funded by Croatia’s state budget, and national and international foundations and programmes, such as National Institutes of Health (USA), EU framework programmes for research and innovation, and others. Since its establishment, the Institute has been continuously striving for scientific excellence and global networking, it is connected with top-class leading organizations, and it is open for new collaborations in future projects.

Center for Applied Bioanthropology is a highly sophisticated, interdisciplinary center consisting of five laboratories (Laboratory for Molecular Anthropology, Laboratory for Evolutionary Anthropology and Bioarchaeology, Laboratory for Chemical Analytics, Laboratory for Microbial Ecology, Laboratory for Chemical and Biomedical Informatics ), each equipped with top-end instruments. Research fields of the Center include molecular anthropology, evolutionary anthropology and bioarchaeology, analytical chemistry in anthropology, microbial ecology, human growth and development, aging and personalised medicine. The Center also offers professional laboratory services (specific laboratory analyses, forensic expertise, professional studies and projects). In addition to the scientific and professional services, the work of the Center includes education of students (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level), mentoring of graduate and doctoral dissertations, methodological training, public lectures, summer schools, workshops etc.

Laboratories:

The Laboratory for Molecular Anthropology

The Laboratory for Molecular Anthropology is specialized in various types of molecular-anthropological analyses, including population-genetic analyses, analyses of migration processes at regional and global levels, as well as applied molecular-anthropological analyses within the forensic science and genetic analyses in the field of sport and nutrition.
The Laboratory for Evolutionary Anthropology and Bioarchaeology

The Laboratory for Evolutionary Anthropology and Bioarchaeology is specialized in the implementation of various types of bioarchaeological analyses, including taxonomic and phylogenetic, and various evolutionary aspects, as well as the preparation of human bone material for various types of analyses (e.g. sampling for ancient DNA analysis etc.). The preparation involves the cleaning, drying and inventorying of bone samples from the archaeological context, while standard analysis includes the determination of taphonomic characteristics, sex and age at the time of death, minimum number of individuals in case of mass burials, paleopathological and dental analyses, determination of metric and non-metric characteristics and height reconstruction. Also, the Laboratory takes samples to be sent abroad for further analyses (C14, aDNA).
The Laboratory for Chemical Analytics

The Laboratory for Chemical Analytics is a regional center for analytical chemistry in anthropology, including the multielemental analysis of archaeological bone samples, the implementation of complete toxicological analyses from biological samples (blood, urine, bone, hair, nails etc.). The analytical chemistry in anthropology is one of the most propulsive areas of anthropological and forensic sciences and almost every disease or condition of a human organism is related to the influence of particular chemicals. This is particularly associated with complex diseases, including obesity, and one of the main pathways of the intake of chemicals into the human body is nutrition.
The Laboratory for Molecular genetics and Microbial Ecology

The Laboratory for Molecular genetics and Microbial Ecology deals with the determination the role of microorganisms in the quality of life in different populations, to explore the mechanisms of interaction of intestinal microbiome and human organism and the role of microbiome in the emergence of complex diseases. The Laboratory also explores the role of microorganisms in the impact on the environment, exploring nutritional habits of populations of the past and microbiological factors that affect the quality of the archaeological sites. Research contributes to the knowledge of the interaction of the ecological system consisting of human and environment and the improvement of the health status of individuals. The analyses to be carried out within this Laboratory include classical microbiological analyses and the application of new methods such as (meta-)genome analysis, (meta-)transcriptome analysis, massive parallel sequencing and sequencing of individual cells, metabolomics and cell physiology testing in real systems.
The Laboratory for Chemical and Biomedical Informatics

The Laboratory for Chemical and Biomedical Informatics is a research department dedicated to processing and interpreting data from the fields of chemistry, biomedicine, and the environment. The laboratory employs advanced chemometric methods for modeling chemical systems, as well as bioinformatics methods for a deeper understanding of chemical and biological processes. Basic techniques include statistical methods and machine learning, implemented through programming languages such as Python and/or R, enabling the understanding of linear and nonlinear relationships. Models are used for analyzing trends in air pollution, identifying new biomarkers in metabolic studies, and analyzing metagenomic data with a focus on the complex diseases such as obesity and asthma.

Duration: 1 June 2018 – 1 March 2020
Total worth of the project: 26.472.966,86 HRK
Eu co-financing: 22.502.021,83 HRK

News

From shore to land

By Lucija Dodigovic|2025-04-18T06:19:57+00:00April 18th, 2025|Categories: News|

A study entitled "From shore to land: A comparative isotopic study of Neolithic dietary practices in coastal and inland Croatia" was published this Wednesday, April [...]

Participation in the Biology Carrier Day – “Meet the biologists”

By Lucija Dodigovic|2025-04-09T14:12:30+00:00April 9th, 2025|Categories: News|

On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025, at the invitation of the project organizers (students - members of the Biology Students Association - BIUS), the Institute for [...]

15th International Meeting of the Society for Anthropology

By Lucija Dodigovic|2025-04-07T07:00:47+00:00April 7th, 2025|Categories: News|

At the 15th International Meeting of the Society for Anthropology, which took place in Kiel, Germany, from March 30 to April 3, 2025, Mario Novak gave [...]

EDIAQI workshop in school

By Lucija Dodigovic|2025-04-04T08:50:33+00:00April 4th, 2025|Categories: News|

As part of the awareness campaign for general public on the importance of indoor air quality, collaborators from the EU project EDIAQI (Evidence-Driven Indoor [...]

Institute for Anthropological Research in March 2012 received the acknowledgment of European Commission for implementing the European Charter for Researchers and the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researcher. By assigning the right to use the logo “HR Excellence in Research”, the European Commission honored the Institute for the successful preparation of Strategy for Human Resources for Researchers. Award will enable the Institute to join the European research area and to ensure better working conditions and career development of researchers and the free flow of knowledge and open labor market.

To get the acknowledgment, the Institute had to carry out an extensive analysis of the internal regulations and identify gaps and obstacles in the management of human resources and respect the rights of researchers. Based on the analysis, the action plans in compliance with the regulatory principles of the Charter and the Code have been prepared in order to meet the standards set forth in this important European documents.