Saša Missoni, PhD

Institute for Anthropological research

contact: sasa.missoni@inantro.hr ;  +385 1/5535-100 ; +385 99/3809-062

EDUCATION, ACADEMIC AND SCIENTIFIC DEGREES

  • 2022. Associate professor. Scientific Field of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Faculty of Dental Medicine and Healthcare University of Osijek, Croatia.
  • 2018. Senior Scientific Associate. Scientific Field of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia.
  • 2014. Assistant Professor. Scientific Field of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia.
  • 2014. Scientific Associate. Scientific Field of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia.
  • 2012. Assistant Professor. Scientific Field of Humanities (Anthropology), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2009. Scientific Associate. Scientific Field of Humanities (Anthropology). Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2009. Ph.D. Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Doctoral thesis: Interaction between dietary habits and complex phenotipic traits of inhabitants of the island of Vis. Supervisor: prof. Pavao Rudan, PhD, MD, Member of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
  • 2001. B. Sc. Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia.

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • Since September 2023. Assistant Director for international collaboration, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • April – September 2023. acting officer Director. Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Since 2023. Senior Scientific Associate, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2011. – 2023. Director. Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2010. – 2011. Assistant Director. Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • Since 2009. Scientific Associate. Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2003. – 2009. Junior Researcher. Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
  • 2002. – 2003. Junior Researcher. Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Croatia
  • 2000.- 2002. Tamaris d.o.o.

PROJECTS

International

Leader

  • 2020. – 2023. Leader of INANTRO team. Individualized Approach in the Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes Onset and Development (IRI), European Fund for Regional Development (KK.01.2.1.02), Associates in Croatia: Medilab ONE, Genos and Institute for Anthropological Research
  • 2016. – 2017. Leader of Croatian team. Integrated GWAS and EWAS of Cardiometabolic Traits in an Island Population. National Institutes of Health – NIH, USA. Co-leader: Prof. Ranjan Deka, PhD, University of Cincinnati, USA.
  • 2013. – 2015. Leader of Croatian team. Genetic and environmental factors of insulin resistance syndrome and its long term complication in immigrant Mediterranean populations – MEDIGENE. European Commission (FP7). Coordinator: Prof. Florin Grigorescu, PhD, University of Montpellier, France.
  • 2013. – 2016. Principal Investigator. Biological and Biomechanical Characteristics of Sprint Running. Laboratory of Kinanthropometry, Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy.

Associate

  • 2021. – 2025. Member of the Management Committee. Bench to Bedside Transition for Pharmacological Regulation of NRF2 in Noncomunicable Diseases (BenBedPhar), CA20121
  • 2019. – 2023. Member of Working Group 1. European Burden of Disease Network , CA18218
  • 2019. – 2023. Substitute member of the Management Committee. Novel Tools for Test Evaluation and Disease Prevalence Estimation, CA18208
  • 2019. – 2020. Member of the Management Committee. Diagnosis, Monitoring and Prevention of Exposure-Related Noncommunicable Diseases – DiMoPEx. European Cooperation in Science and Technology – COST.
  • 2018.- 2019. Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative, Croatia – CroCOSI.  Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia. Principal investigator: Prof. Sanja Musić Milanović, PhD, Croatian Science Foundation
  • 2013 – 2014 . Study of adolescents’ lifestyle habits for obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention. Principal investigator: prof. dr. sc. Vesna Jureša.  “Andrija Stampar” Teaching Institute of Public Health.
  • 2006. – 2008. Genetics of Metabolic Sindrome in an Island Population of the Adriatic. Principal investigators: Prof. Ranjan Deka, PhD, University of Cincinnati, USA, and Prof. Pavao Rudan, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia. Funded by: National Institutes of Health – NIH, USA, and Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia.
  • 2002. – 2005. Mapping genes underlying complex quantitative traits in Croatian isolate population. Medical Research Council, Edinburgh, UK. Principal investigators: Prof. Alan Wright, PhD, and Prof. Andrew Carothers, PhD, Human Genetics Unit, Medical Research Council, Edinburgh, UK; Prof. Harry Campbell, PhD, University of Edinburg, UK; Prof. Igor Rudan, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb

National

Leader

  • 2018. – 2020. Member of Managing Board and associate. Centre for Applied Bioanthropology – BIOANT. European fund for regional development.
  • 2015. – 2018. Principal Investigator. Croatian Islands’ Birth Cohort Study – CRIBS. Croatian Science Foundation.
  • 2013. – 2015. Associate. Research on life habits of adolescents in order to prevent obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Croatian Institute of Public Health, Clinical Hospital Centre Dubrava, School of Public Health “Andrija Štampar” and Institute for Anthropological Research.
  • 2011. – 2012. Principal Investigator. Dietary habits and metabolic syndrome in adolescents. Croatian Food Agency.

 

Associate

  • Since 2017.  Adviser. Exploring Gut Microbiome Equilibrium – MicroEquilibrium. Principal investigator: Antonio Starčević, PhD, Faculty of Food technology and biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Croatia, Croatian Science Foundation.
  • 2003. – 2013. Associate. Population Structure of Croatia – Anthropogenetic Approach. Principal investigator: Prof. Pavao Rudan, PhD, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia. Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia

 

COMMITTEES, BOARDS AND WORKING GROUPS

  • Since 2021. Member of the Working Group for the preparation of the “Draft Proposal of the Action Plan for the Prevention of Obesity” of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia
  • Since 2021. Deputy National Representative to the European Commission in Working Group 1+MG WG12 The Genom of Europe (GoE)
  • Since 2021. President of the organizing committee of International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS)
  • Since 2019. Representative of Ministry of Science and Education on the ICPerMed Executive Committee. International Consortium for Personalised Medicine  (ICPerMed)
  • Since 2018. President. Croatian-Israeli Business Club
  • 2018.-2022. Vice-president. International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES)
  • from 2018. Member of the Management Board. Center for Applied Bioanthropology – BIOANT, Institute for Anthropological Research
  • from 2018. Member of the working group for the implementation of the Declaration on Genomics. Ministry of Health
  • since 2016. Member of the Management Board. Croatian Society for Human Genetics
  • since 2015. Member of the Management Board. Croatian Competitiveness Cluster for Personalized Medicine (Ministry of Economy)
  • Since 2019. Chairman of the ISABS Committee on Anthropology and Global Health
  • Since 2019. Member of Board of Directors. Association for Personalized Medicine at Croatian Medical Association.
  • since 2018. Member of the Scientific Committee of the University of J.J. Strossmayer, Faculty of Medicine, Osijek.
  • Since 2017. President. International Society for the Study of Human Growth and Clinical Auxology (ISGA).
  • since 2014. Deputy President. Commission on Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology (IUAES).
  • since 2013. Member of the Council. Scientific Council for Anthropological Research of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU).
  • since 2012. Vice President. Processus montanus Research and Education Center, Lokve.
  • 2011. – 2013. Member of the International Committee. BioSocial Society.
  • 2008 .– 2010. Member of the Management Board. Institute of Anthropology, Zagreb.

ORGANIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

President:

  • ISGA & EAA: International Society for the Study of Human Growth and Clinical Auxology & European Anthropological Association. Šibenik, 2024.
  • IUAES – International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Congress: Coming of Age on Earth: Legacies and Next Generation Anthropology, Virtually 2021
  • IUAES – International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Inter – Congress: World Anthropologies and Privatization of Knowledge: Engaging Anthropology in Public. Dubrovnik, 2016.
  • EAA – European Anthropological Association: 20th Congress of the European Anthropological Association. European Anthropology in a Changing World: From Culture to Global Biology. Zagreb, 2016.

Member of Organizing/Scientific/Program Committees :

  • IUAES –  International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Inter-Congress: World Solidarities. Poznan, Poland, 2019.
  • Evolutionary medicine: Health and disease in changing environment. Vilnius, Litva, 2014., 2016. and 2018.
  • ISABS –  International Society for Applied Biological Sciences: Conference on Forensic and Anthropologic Genetics and Mayo Clinic Lectures in Individualized Medicine. Split, Croatia, 2013. and 2019., Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2017., Bol, Croatia, 2011. and 2015.
  • Archaic Hominin Meeting. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Opatija, 2011.
  • Neandertal Consortium Meeting. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Dubrovnik, 2009.
  • 3rd Croatian Biotchnology Congress: Biotechnology and Food, Zagreb, Croatia, 2003.

 SCIENTIFIC WORK

* List of publications: link

MEMBERSHIPS IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

International:

  • International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS)
  • International Society for the Study of Human Growth and Clinical Auxology (ISGA)
  • European Anthropological Association (EAA)
  • International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES)
  • International Association of Human Biologists
  • American Anthropological Association (AAA)
  • American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA)
  • Rotary International
  • Croatian – Israeli Business Club

National:

  • Croatian Society for Precise Personalised Medicine
  • Croatian Society for Human Genetics
  • Croatian Society for Biotechnology
  • Croatian Diabetological Society
  • Croatian Society for Obesity (associate member of EASO – European Association for the Study of Obesity)
  • Ambassador of Croatian Tourism to the Croatian Tourist Board from 2018.