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RESEARCH GROUP

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Head of the research project

Dr Nives Matijaković Mlinarić has a PhD in chemistry, which she obtained at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia. From 2015 until 2022 she worked at the RuÄ‘er Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Croatia as a research assistant. To date, she worked on the determination of the influence of anthropogenic and natural pollutants on the kinetic of tufa formation in Croatian biggest and oldest National park Plitvice Lakes which is under UNESCO protection and microplastic incorporation in minerals relevant for biomineralization. She has made numerous collaborations with different groups connected to surface characteristics of coated titanium dental implants for better biocompatibility, osteogenesis, and hydroxyapatite formation. She explored the improved anticorrosion protection due to vitamin D3 bioactive coating on titanium dental implants to design a more corrosion-resistant and at the same time more bioactive surface. Also, she researched surface modification of copper surfaces covered with thin films of fatty acids, cultural heritage objects made of leather, as well as the characterization of 2 millennia-old bronze kettle using easily accessible characterization techniques.

Working with various research groups in different scientific fields she met and mastered state-of-the-art techniques, expanded her expertise and published 17 articles with an international peer review. She gained knowledge, skills and experience in chemical synthesis and physicochemical characterization of different surfaces like metal and leather. As the principal investigator, she has successfully led 2 small projects financed by the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts (HAZU) and The European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).  

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Supervisor

The host supervisor Dr. Klemen Bohinc has 20 years of experience in the field of electrostatics and statistical physics of biological macromolecules, polyelectrolytes, and membranes and 10 years of experience in microbial adhesion to material surfaces. Dr. Bohinc is the perfect supervisor for this project because of his outstanding experience with metal nanoparticle systems for different types of application. He has experience with leading CEA projects (Ionic specificity of electrolytic solutions in contact with surfaces), applicative projects (Microbial adhesion management on material surfaces) and has been the head of the cathedra for Orthotics and Prosthetics during his academic career. His experience in management of projects will be transferred and will be of great use. Moreover, he was the coordinator of the CEEPUS network (Slovenian side) and a member of the management committee of several COST actions (European Network of Bioadhesion Expertise; Antimicrobial Coating Innovations to prevent infectious diseases). He has participated on more than 100 conferences with several keynote lectures. Dr Bohinc has published more than 100 scientific papers with 6 chapters in scientific monographs and has more than 2300 citations according to Web of Science data base. Dr Bohinc will monitor the research progress of the project. As a supervisor he has led 2 postdoctoral researchers, 2 PhD students (and 2 ongoing), 4 Master and 8 Bachelor theses. He was honoured as a member of Slovenian Biophysical Society and European Physical Society.  Dr Bohinc was awarded by the Senate of the University of Ljubljana with a gold plaque for outstanding academic and research achievements. The supervisor has more than 10 years of experience in nanomaterials and has a long-term collaboration with experts in the field of microbial adhesion to surfaces.

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