izv. prof. dr. sc. Aleksandra Maršavelski

Teaching

undergraduate

• General biochemistry (72921) - Lecturer in charge
• General biochemistry (72922) - Lecturer in charge

graduate

• Modelling of biomacromolecules (198316) - Lecturer in charge
• Modern biochemical research and its applications (104331) - Lecturer in charge

integrated undergraduate and graduate

• Biochemistry 2 (196131) - Lecturer in charge
• Biochemistry 2 (231209) - Lecturer in charge
• Modern Biochemical Research and its Applications (213049) - Lecturer in charge
• Modern Biochemical Research and its Applications (227882) - Lecturer in charge

Biography

EDUCATION

 

03/2012-07/2017 Ph.D. in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia

09/2010-07/2011 M.Sc. in Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia

09/2006-07/2010 B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia

 

FELLOWSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

2023 Woman in Research (WiRe) Postdoc Fellowship granted by University of Münster in Germany

2017 Annual best young scientist's paper award from the Society of University Professors, scholars and other scientists in Zagreb

2016/2017 Town of Zagreb Scholarship for the best PhD students

2016 The Best Scientific Paper Award - Ruđer Bošković Institute yearly award

2016 FEBS Short-Term Fellowship to visit the Kamerlin lab in Uppsala, Sweden

2011 Top Student Award, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia

 

SHORT-TERM VISITS

08-10/2019 UKF project, the Kamerlin lab (Professor Lynn Kamerlin), Uppsala University, Uppsala,  Sweden, (Project: Catalytic selectivity toward fluorinated compounds)

08-09/2017 Jackson Research Group, Australian National University, Canberra,  Australia (Project: Interaction networks in proteins)

FEBS Short-Term Fellowship to visit the Kamerlin lab, Uppsala University, Uppsala,  Sweden, 06-08/2016 (Project: Catalytic mechanism of diamine oxidase revealed by  EVB simulations)

National Institute of Chemistry, Department of Computational Biochemistry and Drug Design, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 01-02/2016. (Project: Catalytic mechanism and selectivity of monoamine oxidase B revealed by EVB simulations)

PROJECTS

Principal investigator

•    ”Enzyme engineering for sustainable bioplastic recycling“ call: Research projects for young researchers, The National Recovery and Resilience Plan founded through Next Generation EU July 2023 – July 2026 (613.614,53 EUR)

•    ”Optimization of biogas production through smart allocation of input materials, bacterial, and enzymatic diversity“ – call: Start-up/spin-off companies of young researchers, The National Recovery and Resilience Plan founded through Next Generation EU October 2023 – July 2026 (199.093,18 EUR)

•    ”Sustainable Management of Plastic Waste through Biorecycling“, April 1st  2023 –March 31st, 2024. Funded through Horizon2020-sponsored program UNIC 4 Engaged Research (UNIC4ER); Project for the establishment of a consortium and collaborative network.

•    “Computational optimization of enzymes that catalyze beneficial reactions for the environment” 2021-2022, funded by the Foundation of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

•    “Characteristics of the primordial amino acid norvaline in the context of modern proteins” 2020-2021, funded by the Foundation of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

•     “Catalytic selectivity toward fluorinated compounds” in collaboration with Prof. Shina Caroline Lynn Kamerlin, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 2019, funded by the Unity through knowledge Fund (UKF)

•    “Mechanisms of discrimination in editing domain of isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase from E. coli” 2019-2020, funded by the Foundation of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Secondary Proposer and MC member

•    COST Action CA21162 – “Establishing a Pan-European Network on Computational Redesign of Enzymes” (2022-2026), Working Group 2 “Computational optimization of catalytic properties” leader

•    COST Action CA21160 - “Non-globular proteins in the era of Machine Learning (2022-2026)

Collaborator

•    “HERO – Healthcare Online”; EU project – Central European Initiative (CEI) – 2020-2021

•    “Allosteric communication pathways in oligomeric enzymes” (2020-2024); Croatian Science Foundation

•    “Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases as gatekeepers of the standard genetic code” (2017-2021); Croatian Science Foundation (consultant)

•    “Computational studies of the biogenic amines of the brain for targeting neurological diseases – CompBAND” (2013-2017); FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant

Published papers recorded in the Croatian Scientific Bibliography Database

More information about publications

List of select publications

A. Maršavelski, I. Sabljić, D. Sugimori, B. Kojić-Prodić, The substrate selectivity of the two homologous SGNH hydrolases from Streptomyces bacteria: Molecular dynamics and experimental study, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2020) 158: 222-230

A. Palcic, S. Babić, A. Maršavelski, M. Galić, N. Topić Popović, I. Strunjak Perović, R. Čož-Rakovac, J. Bronić, V. Valtchev; Nanosized zeolite beta - determining the safety of usage by zebrafish Danio rerio embryos, Microporous and Mesoporous Materials (2020) 299, 110103

A. Maršavelski, D. Petrović, P. Bauer, R. Vianello, S. C. L. Kamerlin; Empirical Valence Bond Simulations Suggest a Direct Hydride Transfer Mechanism for Human Diamine Oxidase, ACS Omega (2018), 3: 3665–3674.

I. Leščić Ašler, Z. Štefanić, A. Maršavelski, R. Vianello and B. Kojić-Prodić; The Catalytic Dyad in the SGNH Hydrolase Superfamily: In-depth Insight into Structural Parameters Tuning Catalytic Process of Extracellular Lipase from Streptomyces rimosus, ACS Chemical Biology (2017), 12: 1928–1936. 

A. Maršavelski; R. Vianello; “What a difference a methyl group makes - the selectivity of monoamine oxidase B towards histamine and N-methylhistamine”, Chemistry - A European Journal (2017), 23: 2915–2925.  

R. J. Schwamm, R. Vianello, A. Maršavelski, M. Á. García, R. M. Claramunt, I. Alkorta, J. Saame, I. Leito, C. M. Fitchett, A. J. Edwards, and M. P. Coles; “15N NMR Spectroscopy, X-ray and Neutron Diffraction, Quantum-Chemical Calculations, and UV/vis-Spectrophotometric Titrations as Complementary Techniques for the Analysis of Pyridine-Supported Bicyclic Guanidine Superbases", Journal of Organic Chemistry, (2016), 81: 7612–7625. 

A. Maršavelski; “A novel antimicrobial target—expanded and revisited mode of action of pantothenamides”, RSC advances, (2016), 6: 44888-44895.  

M. Kržan, R. Vianello, A. Maršavelski, M. Repič, M. Zakšek, K. Kotnik, E. Fijan and J. Mavri; “The Quantum Nature of Drug-Receptor Interactions: Deuteration Changes Binding Affinities for Histamine Receptor Ligands”, PLOS ONE, (2016), 11(5):e0154002. 

Đ. Škalamera, E. Sanders, R. Vianello, A. Maršavelski, A. Pevec, I. Turel and S. I. Kirin; “Synthesis and characterization of ML and ML2 metal complexes with amino acid substituted bis(2-picolyl)amine ligands”, Dalton Transactions, (2016), 45: 2845-2858. 

A. Maršavelski, V. Smrečki, R. Vianello, M. Žinić, A. Moguš-Milanković and A. Šantić; “Supramolecular Ionic-Liquid Gels with High Ionic Conductivity”, Chemistry - A European Journal (2015), 21: 12121–12128. 

A. Maršavelski, M. Močibob, I. Gruić-Sovulj, R. Vianello; “The origin of specificity and insight into recognition between aminoacyl carrier protein and its partner ligase”, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2015), 17: 19030-19038.  

A. Maršavelski, S. Lesjak, M. Močibob, I. Weygand-Đurašević, S. Tomić; “A single amino acid substitution affects the substrate specificity of the seryl-tRNA synthetase homologue”, Molecular BioSystems (2014), 10: 3207-3216. 

V. Prokopović, M. Popović, U. Anđelković, A. Maršavelski, B. Rasković, M. Gavrović-Jankulović, N. Polović; “Isolation, biochemical characterization and anti-bacterial activity of BPIFA2 protein”, Archives of Oral Biology (2014), 59: 302-309. 

Professional memberships

Croatian Biophysical Society

Croatian Crystallographic Association

Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology