RESEARCH PROJECTS FUNDED BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND BIOMEDICINE
HORIZON EUROPE:
Evidence-driven indoor air quality improvement – EDIAQI
Evidence-driven indoor air quality improvement – EDIAQI
European Commission, Horizon Europe
Project duration: December 1st 2022 – November 30th 2026
Call: HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-02
Coordinator: The Lisbon Council for Economic Competitiveness ASBL, Bruxelles, Belgium
Partners:
- THE LISBON COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS, Belgium
- Ascalia d.o.o., Croatia
- WINGS ICT SOLUTIONS INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, Greece
- LEIBNIZ INSTITUT FUER TROPOSPHAERENFORSCHUNG e.V., Germany
- INSTITUT ZA ANTROPOLOGIJU, Croatia
- TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET GRAZ, Austria
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DEL MOLISE, Italy
- UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA, Spain
- Srebrnjak Children’s Hospital, Croatia
- DEDAGROUP PUBLIC SERVICES SRL, Italy
- TALLINNA TEHNIKALIKOOL, Estonia
- LAB SERVICE ANALYTICA SRL, Italy
- NACIONALNI INSTITUT ZA BIOLOGIJO, Slovenia
- Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Lithuania
- REGION HOVEDSTADEN, Denmark
- Daikin Airconditioning Central Europe HandelsGmbH, Austria
- KNOW-CENTER GMBH RESEARCH CENTER FOR DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS & BIG DATA ANALYTICS, Austria
- Institut za medicinska istrazivanja i medicinu rada, Croatia
- Thinnect O?, Estonia
Leader of the IAR team: Jelena Šarac, PhD
Other IAR associates:
- Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, PhD
- Ass. Prof. Eva Anđela Delale, PhD
- Iva Šunić, MA
Abstract:
Indoor air pollution, an emerging threat recognized by European society, is claiming millions of lives annually. In the heat of current COVID-19 pandemic, elevated exposure to indoor air pollutants due to increased time spent indoors further faces a significant increase in negative effect on both physical and mental health and well-being not only in Europe, but also worldwide. When it comes to indoor air quality itself, serious knowledge gaps remain in understanding complex nature of indoor outdoor pollution relationships, pollution sources and exposure pathways, health effects of emerging pollutants, ventilation of indoor spaces on wide spatial and long temporal scales. This is mainly because air quality monitoring in European Union (EU) is primarily focused on outdoor air quality, which paradoxically is a result of regulatory target compliances, which is lacking for indoor environments. To increase the resilience of EU for emerging threats of indoor air pollution and to promote living and working in healthy environments, project EDIAQI aims at conducting characterization of sources and routes of exposure and dispersion of chemical, biological, and emerging indoor air pollution in multiple cities in EU. Quantification of the main properties of pollutants and processes that governs its fate in indoor environments will be investigated on two levels: a) the-state-of-the-art, small-scale, high-intensity scientific focus measurement campaigns; and b) long-term, large-scale monitoring of target indoor air pollutants. The chosen project strategy for developing, characterization, and deployment of cost-effective/user-friendly monitoring solutions, together with the-state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation will allow to create new knowledge on sources, routes of exposure, and body burdens of indoor multipollutant.
HORIZON 2020:
Unravelling Data for Rapid Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (unCoVer)
Unravelling Data for Rapid Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (unCoVer)
European Commission, Horizon 2020
TOPIC: SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020-2E – Networking of existing EU and international cohorts of relevance to COVID-19
CALL: H2020-SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020-2-RTD
Project duration: 15 November 2020 – 14 November 2022
Leader of INANTRO team: Miran Čoklo, PhD
Coordinator: PRINS LEOPOLD INSTITUUT VOOR TROPISCHE GENEESKUNDE, Belgium
Partners:
FUNDACION INVESTIGATION HM HOSPITALES, Spain
UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID, Spain
UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA, Spain
UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO, Portugal
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY DUBLIN, Ireland
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK – NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, CORK, Ireland
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE IULIU HATIEGANU CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania
UNIVERSITATEA DE MEDICINA SI FARMACIE GRIGORE T POPA DIN IASI, Romania
LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF HEALTH, Luxembourg
UNIVERSIDADE CATOLICA PORTUGUESA, Portugal
TRNAVSKA UNIVERZITA V TRNAVE, Slovakia
INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE COIMBRA, Portugal
SERVICIO MADRILENO DE SALUD, Spain
INSTITUTO INVESTIGACION SANITARIA FUNDACION JIMENEZ DIAZ, Spain
PANEPISTIMIO THESSALIAS, Greece
UNIVERSITETET I SOROST-NORGE, Norway
ISTITUTO DON CALABRIA, Italy
SCIENSANO, Belgium
HRVATSKI ZAVOD ZA JAVNO ZDRAVSTVO, Croatia
INSTITUT ZA ANTROPOLOGIJU, Croatia
BASKENT UNIVERSITESI VAKFI, Turkey
ST MARY’S UNIVERSITY TWICKENHAM, United Kingdom
AZIENDA ULSS 6 EUGANEA, Italy
KOREA UNIVERSITY, South Korea
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, United States
UNIVERSIDAD DE ANTIOQUIA, Colombia
ASSOCIACAO PRO ENSINO SUPERIOR EM NOVO HAMBURGO, Brazil
UNIVERZITET U SARAJEVU, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Summary of the project:
unCoVer is a functional network of research institutions collecting data derived from the provision of care to COVID-19 patients by health systems across Europe and internationally. These real-world data allow for studies into patient’s characteristics, risk factors, safety and effectiveness of treatments and potential strategies against COVID-19 in real settings, and complement findings from efficacy/safety clinical trials where vulnerable groups, and patients with comorbidities are often excluded. The network will facilitate access to otherwise scattered datasets, and build computational and analytical platforms to streamline studies on risk characterisation, and prediction modelling using standardised pooled data derived from real life practices. It will fill data gaps, unify current initiatives and create downstream exploitation opportunities for researchers and public health strategies to optimise COVID-19 strategies and minimise the impacts of future outbreaks.
FP7:
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.
National Institute of Health:
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.
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
European Fund for Regional Development:
Individualized approach in the prediction of type 2 diabetes onset and development (IRI)
Title: Individualized approach in the prediction of type 2 diabetes onset and development
Funding: European Fund for Regional Development (KK.01.2.1.02)
Associates: Medilab ONE, Genos and Institute for Anthropological Research (Saša Missoni, PhD, Vedrana Škaro, PhD, Petar Projić, PhD)
Duration: 17. 08. 2020 – 17. 08. 2023.
Abstract:
The project is an industrial research aimed at developing an individualized screening service for high-risk patients, based on the plasma glycome. The final product will be a developed test with identified molecular structures that suggest the development of type 2 diabetes in patients with no signs of the disease. This product will predict the time period in which diabetes will develop from a pre-diabetes stage, and will include recommendations of “lifestyle habits” that permanently or temporarily delay the disease onset and development (dietary habits – preferably based on menus developed individually according to the metabolic characteristics of high-risk patients and physical activity/exercise). Through this project, glycan and protein biomarkers for the development of type 2 diabetes and the impact of lifestyle habits on the prolongation of the period in which the disease occurs will be investigated.
- INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH IN THE PREDICTION OF TYPE 2 DIABETES ONSET AND DEVELOPMENT (IRI) / 17. 08. 2020 – 17. 08. 2023., European Fund for Regional Development (KK.01.2.1.02), Associates in Croatia: Medilab ONE, Genos and Institute for Anthropological Research (Saša Missoni, PhD, Vedrana Škaro, PhD, Petar Projić, PhD)
Centre for Applied Bioanthropology (BIOANT)
Project is partially funded by European Union, from the European fund for Regional Development
User: Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb
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
The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the Institute for Anthropological Research.
More information on EU funds: www.strukturnifondovi.hr
Short description:
In May 2018, Institute for Anthropological Research signed the grant award for the project “Centre for Applied Bioanthropology“ which was approved under the Call “Investments in Organizational Reform and Infrastructure of the Research, Development and Innovation Sector“ and funded by the European Fund for Regional Development. The project involves the construction of four new laboratories (Laboratory for Molecular Anthropology, Laboratory for Evolutionary Anthropology and Bioarchaeology, Laboratory for Chemical Analytics and Laboratory for Microbial Ecology) in the existing premises of the Institute. This project will enable the implementation of high quality scientific research, further enhance the collaboration with international institutions and submissions of significant international projects, all with the aim of securing the competitiveness in the European Research Area.
The project will enhance top-level scientific research capacity of the Institute, increase the number of researchers working in improved research facilities, increase the number of scientific publications in the journals indexed in Web of Science platform, increase the number of students and theses and provide a better bases for scientific cooperation with similar organizations, both in Europe and the world. It will enable the Institute for Anthropological Research to become the leading national center for conducting anthropological research.
More info: https://inantro.hr/en/bioant/
Bilateral project of scientific and technological cooperation with Austria with the Ministry of Science and Education:
INVESTIGATING THE BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION AND ITS RELATION TO ASTHMA IN CHILDREN
Project title: INVESTIGATING THE BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION AND ITS RELATION TO ASTHMA IN CHILDREN
Duration: 2024 – 2025
Financing: Croatian and Austrian Ministry of science and education
Croatian project leader: Jelena Šarac, PhD, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Austrian project leader: Tomislav Černava, PhD, Technische Universitaet Graz, Austria
Project team:
- Mario Lovrić, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research
- Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research
- Iva Šunić, Institute for Anthropological Research
- Anja Bošnjaković, Institute for Anthropological Research
About the project:
Contamination by biological agents related to moisture and mold increase the risk of respiratory diseases by 50% and it has been estimated that in the recent COVID-19 pandemic up to 15% of deaths were associated with poor indoor air quality and ventilation. Although it has been recognized as an emerging threat, serious knowledge gaps remain in understanding the complex nature of indoor-outdoor pollution relationships, pollution sources and exposure pathways, as well as health effects associated with indoor air quality. This project willl be conducted wiithin the Horizon Europe project “EVIDENCE-DRIVEN INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT – EDIAQI”(https://ediaqi.eu/). Institute for Anthropological Research will collect dust samples from the homes of 200 patients aged 6-18 years (asthmatic children and healthy controls) to retrieve dust microbiome data (the diversity and quantity of bacteria and fungi) from children’s beddings. The main goal of the proposed research is to use the generated raw sequencing data on dust microbiome (bacteria and fungi) and employ different bioinformatic tools and programs to evaluate the main sources and composition of biological determinants of indoor air pollution and to link the exposure to microorganisms to health-related outcomes. This will be accomplished by a joint collaboration between IAR and UT Graz, two partners within the existing EDIAQI project. The collaboration will include transfer of knowledge between partner institutions in bioinformatic analyses of biological determinants in indoor air pollution and their health-related effects.
- INVESTIGATING THE BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION AND ITS RELATION TO ASTHMA IN CHILDREN / 2024– 2025, Bilateral Croatian-Austrian project, Ministry of Science and Education, Croatian project leader: Jelena Šarac, PhD, Institue for Anthropological Research; Austrian project leader: Tomislav Černava, PhD, Technische Universitaet Graz)
Austrian Science Fundation:
Reconstruction of genetic diversity and migratory patterns of late Avar population using ancient DNA analysis
Title: Reconstruction of genetic diversity and migratory patterns of late Avar population using ancient DNA analysis
Duration: 2021 – 2022
Financing: program Joint Excellence in Science and Humanities (JESH)
PI: Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, PhD, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Associates:
- Jelena Šarac, PhD, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
- Mario Novak, PhD, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
- prof. Ron Pinhasi, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Abstract:
According to historic and archeological finding, Avars arrived to Central Europe from the middle Eurasian steppes in 6th century. In 200 years of their rule until the downfall of the Avar Khaganate they have left significant trace, both in material goods and archeological findings that can be seen on many excavation sites in the Pannonian basin. Still, very little is known of their migratory patterns, genetic history and impact on the genetic structure of contemporary Europeans. Very few recent genetic studies of different Avar groups from Central Europe confirmed their most likely Asian origin as seen in the higher frequencies of Asian mtDNA and Y chromosome haplogroups, but the level of admixture with different Avar and other populations remains mostly unsolved. Furthermore, the genetic data of Avars from the Croatian territory is completely missing and their link to other Avar or Slavic social groups is still unknown. This project will aim to investigate genetic data of individuals from Šarengrad cemetery dated to the late Avar period (8th century), excavated in the easternmost Croatian territory, by using next generation sequencing technology (NGS) that has recently revolutionized the study of ancient DNA. Complete sample processing and data analysis will be done in one of the best European laboratories for ancient DNA analysis at the Department for Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, with Prof. Ron Pinhasi. Obtained results of ancient Avar genomes will provide an insight into their matrilineal and patrilineal heritage and will be coupled with the data from (bio)archaeology (contextual analysis of grave goods, sexing, ageing, pathology). The results of this project will answer complex questions of Avar lifestyle, social organization and migratory paths in wider European area that remained unresolved for centuries.
- RECONSTRUCTION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AND MIGRATORY PATTERNS OF LATE AVAR POPULATION USING ANCIENT DNA ANALYSIS/ 2021 – 2022, Austrian Science Foundation, Joint Excellence in Science and Humanities (JESH), team leader: Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, PhD
TRACING THE SLAVIC ORIGINS OF CROATIANS USING ANCIENT GENOMES AUSTRIJSKA ZAKLADA ZA ZNANOST
PROJECT TITLE: Tracing the Slavic origins of Croatians using ancient genomes
PROJECT DURATION: 2021 – 2022
PROJECT FUNDING: Austrian Academy of Science, JESH programme
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Jelena Šarac, PhD
ASSOCIATES:
- Dubravka Havaš Auguštin, PhD, Center for Applied Bioanthropology, Institue for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
- Mario Novak, PhD, Center for Applied Bioanthropology, Institue for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia
- Prof. Ron Pinhasi, PhD, Departmen of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
ABSTRACT:
Recent methodological advances including the advent of next generation sequencing technologies and the recognition of skeletal remains as rich sources for preservation of DNA, have transformed ancient DNA analysis into a revolutionary new tool for investigating the past. Since little is still known about the impact of different population groups in medieval times (Slavs, Avars, Huns, Hungarians etc.) onto the genetic landscape of SEE and, more specifically, Croatia, aDNA analysis could provide useful insights. Although the phenomenon of the “Slavicization” of Europe has been described in written sources in explicit terms, the question of material remains and evidence of the spread of Slavs into Croatia is still highly debatable and it is unclear to what extent this medieval cultural transformation affected Croatia’s genetic landscape. Therefore, this project will analyse ancient DNA of individuals from Jagodnjak-Krčevine archeological site in eastern Croatia using next generation sequencing technology (NGS) to broaden the knowledge on the 1000-year medieval period of the current Croatian territory. Sample processing and data analysis will be performed in a dedicated laboratory for ancient DNA analysis at the University of Vienna, in collaboration with Prof. Ron Pinhasi. Project activities will include ancient DNA library preparation, ancient DNA sequencing on the Illumina platform, bioinformatical and biostatistical data analysis and a scientific publication based on project results. Obtained results will help elucidate the impact of Slavic migrations in Early Middle Ages on the Croatian genetic landscape, define the degree of admixture between autochtonous Croatian population and the newcomers from eastern/central Europe and allow for a deeper characterization of main genetic stratums in the medieval Croatian gene pool based on a synthesis of ancient autosomal, mitochondrial and Y chromosome data. The project will also allow insight into general health and sex-biased events in the tested rural population from eastern Croatia.
Nutricia Research Fundation:
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.
Wenner Gren Fundation:
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.
Medical Research Council:
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.
Smithsonian Institution:
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.
BIOARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
HORIZON 2020:
Smart Integration of Genetics with Sciences of the Past in Croatia: Minding and Mending the Gap (MendTheGap)
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.
COST:
Integrating Neandertal Legacy: From Past to Present (iNEAL)
Integrating Neandertal Legacy: From Past to Present (iNEAL)
European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
Action duration: 1 November 2020 – 31 October 2024
Action Chair: Ivor Janković, PhD
Summary of the action:
Neandertals are the first human population that can be truly recognized as pan-European phenomenon. Traces of their cultural and/or skeletal remains can be found in most European countries and cover a period of more than 250 000 years. A lot of scientific work has been done on various aspects of their heritage and there is a vast collection of archaeological and anthropological data available. However, there is still a discrepancy in available and updated datasets from various countries. In addition, communication between scientists from various fields and from various countries is still based on personal connections between individual scientists, mostly related to specific projects. This Action is a long overdue attempt to bridge the geographic, language, disciplinary-and-data specific gap, as well as a gap created by traditions of different disciplines in different European countries. Through a combined, scientifically-based and geographically inclusive approach, creation of a growing inclusive database, and promoting dialogue among scientists and creating guidelines for research, a solid base for better understanding of Neandertals can be reached. Further, this will allow a base for inclusion of Neandertal legacy into the present, through scientifically based guidelines for public presentation and further actions for promoting their heritage via inclusion of non-scientific stakeholders, such as administrators, museum and cultural workers, touristic sector, small and medium enterprises and other interested parties.
Website of the Action: http://inealcost.inantro.hr/
- INTEGRATING NEANDERTAL LEGACY: FROM PAST TO PRESENT (iNEAL)
/ 2020 – 2024, CA19141, European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), Action Chair : Ivor Janković, PhD
Bilateral Croatian-Austrian project:
From Ashes to Insights: developing standardized protocols for the study of cremated human remains in archaeology
Project title: From Ashes to Insights: developing standardized protocols for the study of cremated human remains in archaeology
Croatian project leader: Dr. Petra Rajić Šikanjić, Institute for anthropological research
Duration: 1. siječnja 2024. – 31. prosinca 2025.
Funding: Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia and Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria
Leader of the Austrian team:
Ph.D. Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna
Croatian project team:
Ph.D. Daria Ložnjak Dizdar, Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb
Ph.D. Mateja Hulina, Institute of Archaeology, Zagreb
Austrian project team:
Ph.D. Lukas Waltenberger, Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Vienna
Cremation as a funeral practice has been present in different geographical areas since prehistoric times. In certain periods, cremation was the dominant way of disposing of the remains of the deceased. Despite the large number of cremated burials in the archaeological context, their analysis, especially the comparison of different samples, is a problem. Namely, since there are no standardized forms that could be used in the archaeological and anthropological analysis of cremation burials, each researcher uses his own forms in the analysis. Since the prerequisite for a successful comparison of different samples is standardized data collection, with this project we want to propose patterns that would be used in the archaeological and anthropological analysis of cremated burials.
- FROM ASHES TO INSIGHTS: DEVELOPING STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS FOR THE STUDY OF CREMATED HUMAN REMAINS IN ARCHAEOLOGY / Bilateral project of scientific and technological cooperation with the Republic of Austria, Ministry of Science and Education, 2023-2025, project leader dr. Petra Rajić Šikanjić, Institute for anthropoplogical research, Croatia
Bilateral Croatian-Slovenian project:
Mobility during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age
Project title: Mobility during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age
Croatian project leader: Dr. Mario Novak, Institute for anthropological research
The proposed project focuses on two main perspectives – using modern analytical technologies, it will analyze the circulation of objects, raw materials and people, and at the interpretation level it will show changes and continuity in settlement patterns, social practices, technologies and material culture between the 15th and 5th centuries BC in the area between the Pannonian Plain and the Adriatic Sea. The project includes revision of previous knowledge, formulation of theoretical foundations, analysis of existing archaeological findings, verification of existing theoretical foundations as well as anthropological interpretation of the studied archaeological and anthropological findings. The project is designed to explore the current gaps in the knowledge of the said matter, and its originality lies in the use of a set of complementary and advanced research methods that will target the sources and chronology of these circulations in order to examine the nature and direction of the connections focusing on the considered territory, and on finally assessed the spheres of mutual contacts among late prehistoric communities in a wider area. This project will, for the first time, use a single research framework to examine a combination of data derived from archaeological and anthropological studies that are usually considered and investigated separately. A new interdisciplinary methodological approach will systematically address different material categories from a diachronic perspective in accordance with detailed archaeological context and using spatiotemporal modeling based on short chronological estimates to cover the period between the 15th and 5th centuries BC.
- MOBILITY DURING THE LATE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE
/ Bilateral project of scientific and technological cooperation with the Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Science and Education, 2023-2025, project leader dr. Mario Novak, Institute for anthropoplogical research, Croatia
Bilateral Croatian-Hungarian project:
After the fall of the ancient worlds - Life and death at the borderlands of the Gepid Kingdom
Project title: After the fall of the ancient worlds – Life and death at the borderlands of the Gepid Kingdom
Croatian project leader: Dr. Ivor Janković, Institute for anthropological research
Hungarian project leader: Dr. Tamás Szeczey, Hungarian Natural History Musem
Project team:
Dr. Mario Novak, Institute for anthropological research
Mario Carić, Institute for anthropological research
Dr. Željka Bedić, Croatian academy of sciences and arts
Anita Rapan Papeša, City museum Vinkovci
Dr. Zsófia Rácz, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute for Archaeological Sciences
Dr. Tamás Hajdu, Hungarian Natural History Musem
Krisztián Kiss, Hungarian Natural History Musem
Orsolya László, Hungarian Natural History Musem
About the project:
The transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages in the Carpathian Basin was a period of numerous political and social changes resulting from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Hun state. The population of this area was very heterogeneous due to successive migration waves, and the multiethnic structure consists of communities of Germanic tribes from the steppe areas and local Late Antique elements. In the power struggles that followed the collapse of Hun hegemony, the Gepids, a Germanic group inhabiting the eastern and southern parts of the Carpathian Basin, who established their kingdom in the area (452-568) emerged victorious. The Gepid kingdom based its political foundations on Western European traditions of the early Middle Ages, unlike the Hun state, which was based on nomadic traditions from Asia. Social and political transformations resulted in significant changes in the structure of the population, way of life and general health of the communities that formed the newly established kingdom.
The proposed project will seek to gain a better insight into: (i) population homogeneity / heterogeneity during the Gepid period; (ii) characteristics of the Gepid population structure in the light of political and cultural change; (iii) the health status of the populations of the Gepid period and changes in lifestyle and diet. The transformation of socio-political systems during the 5th century also affected the lives of the people of that time. Changes in lifestyle as well as changes in population density and mobility are factors that have had a significant impact on health status. In order to better understand the epidemiological situation, it is necessary to investigate the age and sex frequency of certain diseases, their spatial distribution and possible gender and age differences in dietary differences.
- AFTER THE FALL OF THE ANCIENT WORLDS – LIFE AND DEATH AT THE BORDERLANDS OF THE GEPID KINGDOM (2021 – 2023, Bilateral Croatian-Hungarian project, Croatian project leader: dr. Ivor Janković, Instite for anthropological research; Hungarian project leader: dr. Tamás Szeczey, Hungarian Natural History Musem)
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology:
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.
Wenner-Gren Foundation:
Heavy metal: Rural and urban lead exposure during the Roman Empire
Project title: Heavy metal: Rural and urban lead exposure during the Roman Empire
Principal investigator: Mario Novak, PhD, Institute for anthropological research, Croatia
This project will examine the role of lead poisoning in rural and urban settlements within the Roman province of Dalmatia (Croatia). Scholarship surrounding the role of lead poisoning in the dissolution of the Roman Empire has generally focused on historical sources detailing the use of lead. This project will analyze the bones and teeth of non-adults to get a better picture on the role of lead in explaining the high amounts of pathologies in cemetery assemblages of this age group in Dalmatia. It will use a combination of chemical testing and macroscopic paleopathological analysis to answer the following questions: (i) is there a correlation between lead levels within dental samples of non-adults and pathological bone changes at a regional level?; (ii) is there a differential exposure to lead between rural and urban sites?; (iii) does a difference in lead exposure between rural and urban sites translate to a lessened correlation with pathological changes? This project will bring together prior research on rural/suburban/urban lived experience, research on the impacts of lead exposure and its correlation to skeletal lesions to understand how different groups may have had different exposures to lead and how they may have mitigated the impacts of lead poisoning.
- HEAVY METAL: RURAL AND URBAN LEAD EXPOSURE DURING THE ROMAN EMPIREWenner-Gren Foundation Post-PhD Grant, 2023.-2024., project leader dr. Mario Novak, Institute for anthropological research, Croatia
SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY:
Bilateral scientific and technological collaboration:
The Impact cf Global Uncertainties on the Strengthening of the Food Sovereignty ' Movement in Croatia and Slovenia (SLOHRanA)
Project title: The Impact cf Global Uncertainties on the Strengthening of the Food Sovereignty ‘ Movement in Croatia and Slovenia (SLOHRanA)
Principal Investigators: Olga Orlić, PhD (until 31 March 2024) / Morana Jarec, PhD (from 1 April 2024) and Associate Professor Peter Simonič, PhD
Scientific Personnel: Ana Perinić Lewis, PhD, Alenka Bartulović, PhD, Veronika Zavratnik, Jelena Seferović, PhD
The joint research project of the Institute for Anthropological Research and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Ljubljana is based on the observed new directions of research during the work on the project “Solidarity economy in Croatia: an anthropological perspective” SOLIDARan funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (indicated in the accepted periodical report of the project – descriptive report, point 1.3.) and various projects of Slovenian researchers.
It concerns the perceived need to explore in more detail the responses of individuals to emerging uncertainties affecting basic human needs. The economic crisis of 2008, the pandemic of the disease COVID-19 since 2020, the earthquake in Croatia, and since February 2022 the war in Ukraine have affected and are still affecting many aspects of people’s lives in Croatia and Slovenia and make it even more insecure. Food and water are at the top of the list of priorities for every household, so in times of insecurity, the question of food sovereignty is brought up again and again (cf. Toš 2015:20, Gale 2014). In this connection, the debates about the necessary social reforms of the production, distribution and consumption of food and energy, about legal-organizational and ownership relations, different models of supply chains and exchange of goods, agriculture, degrowth, (re)ruralization of parts of the city are intensifying. population, schools of gardening and coexistence with nature, etc. With the “routinization” of the ongoing pandemic (after the advent of vaccines and drugs), the need for strict isolation subsided, and so did the initial wave of urban enthusiasm with local farmers and short supply chains. The consequences of the war in Ukraine brought this topic up to date again. The issue of food security and food sovereignty has been the focus of researchers, policy makers and, most importantly, practitioners for a long time (Windfuhr and Jonsen 2005, Orlić 2014, 2019, Simonič 2019). While food security has focus on nutrition and availability of food for a growing global population, but in a way that large producers profit from it (see Schanbacher 2010), food sovereignty advocates the same goal, but with different means – strengthening local production and the resilience of the local population. global uncertainties shaped the goals of this project.
The main goal is to investigate the impact of global insecurities on strengthening the resilience of society and encouraging broader social changes related to food (short supply chains, micro-gardening, informal and new forms of exchange, revaluation of agricultural heritage, use of new technologies and knowledge for the purpose of strengthening food sovereignty). We are interested in the ethnographic contents or definitions of food sovereignty and the ways of understanding and practicing it by different social groups, from local to national, in both countries. A particularly important research question relates to understanding the dynamite relationship between spatial and economic identities, adapting lifestyles and life choices to new realities, and the relationship between food sovereignty and political protectionism (localism, regionalism, nationalism). In this context, we are also interested in how corporate but centralized supply chains adapt to changes in social conditions and values on a real and declarative level.
Other goals are to investigate emerging practices that aim at the micro-level to strengthen citizens’ self-sufficiency (related to food) and how they affect their perception of the world, future and security, and ultimately how they affect the resilience and identity of kinship and local communities in their way of life ( volume and type of consumption, etc.).
An important goal is the comparison of ecosystems between and within countries, which we will analyze by comparing urban and rural areas and between countries. In achieving these goals, special attention will be paid to the legal framework and gender relations in such practices.
FP6:
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.
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:
FP5:
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.
UNESCO:
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.
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.
COST – EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – PARTICIPATION
- NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND TRANSNATIONAL HISTORIES OF HEALTHCARE, 1850-2000 / 2023. – 2027., CA22159, Jelena Seferović, PhD, secondary proposer, member of the Management Committee and Working Group
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THE GREAT LEAP. MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO HEALTH INEQUALITIES / 2023. – 2027., CA22116, Matea Zajc Petranović, PhD, member of the Management Committee
- HISTORY OF IDENTITY DOCUMENTATION IN EUROPEAN NATIONS: CITIZENSHIP, NATIONALITY AND MIGRATION / 2022. – 2026., CA21120, Jelena Seferović, PhD, member of the Management Committee and Working Group
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NETWORK ON EVIDENCE-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN OLD AGE / 2021. – 2025., CA20104, Miran Čoklo, PhD, member of Working Group 2
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BENCH TO BEDSIDE TRANSITION FOR PHARMACOLOGICAL REGULATION OF NRF2 IN NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES (BenBedPhar) / 2021. – 2025., CA20121, Saša Missoni, PhD, member of the Management Committee
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RNA COMMUNICATION ACROSS KINGDOMS: NEW MECHANISMS AND STRATEGIES IN PATHOGEN CONTROL / 2021 – 2025., CA20110, Luka Bočkor,PhD, member of the Management Committee
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SLOW MEMORY: TRANSFORMATIVE PRACTICES FOR TIMES OF UNEVEN AND ACCELERATING CHANGE /2021 – 2025, CA20105, Morana Jarec, PhD, member of Working Group 5
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TRACES AS RESEARCH AGENDA FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, TECHNOLOGY STUDIES, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE /2021 – 2025, CA20134, Morana Jarec, PhD, member of Working Groups 2 and 3
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NETWORK FOR BLOOD PRESSURE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS / 2020 – 2024, CA19115, Saša Missoni, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
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RESEARCHER MENTAL HEALTH / 2020 – 2024, CA19117, Nives Fuchs, substitute member of the Management Committee
- EUROPEAN BURDEN OF DISEASE NETWORK / 2019 – 2023., CA18218, Saša Missoni, PhD, member of Working Group 1
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NOVEL TOOLS FOR TEST EVALUATION AND DISEASE PREVALENCE ESTIMATION / 2019 – 2023., CA18208, Saša Missoni, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
- UNDERGROUND BUILT HERITAGE AS CATALYSER FOR COMMUNITY VALORISATION / 2019 – 2023., CA18110, Ivor Janković, PhD, member of the Management Committee
- STATISTICAL NAD MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES IN HUMAN MICROBIOME STUDIES / 2019 – 2023., CA18131, Luka Bočkor, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
- CATALYSING TRANSCRIPTOMICS RESEARCH IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE / 2018 – 2022., CA17129, Natalija Novokmet, PhD, member of the Management Committee
- WRITING URBAN PLACES. NEW NARRATIVES OF THE EUROPEAN CITY / 2018 – 2022., CA18126, Petra Rajić Šikanjić, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
- IDENTIFYING BIOMARKERS THROUGH TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH FOR PREVENTION AND STRATIFICATION OF COLORECTAL CANCER / 2018 – 2022., CA17118, Miran Čoklo, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
- NETWORK ON THE COORDINATION AND HARMONISATION OF EUROPEAN OCCUPATIONAL COHORTS /2017. – 2021., CA16216, Jelena Šarac, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
- FROM SHARING TO CARING: EXAMINING SOCIO-TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE COLLABORATIVE ECONOMY / 2017 – 2021., CA16121, Olga Orlić, PhD, member of Working Groups 3 and 4
- PERSONALIZED NUTRITION IN AGING SOCIETY: REDOX CONTROL OF MAJOR AGRE-RELATED DISEASE / 2017. – 2021., CA16112, Matea Zajc Petranović, PhD, substitute member of the Management Committee
