EATRIS welcomes Croatia observatorship

Published 22 March 2021

We are delighted to announce that Croatia has been officially confirmed as an Observer in EATRIS-ERIC. This is also reflected here in our updated statutes document. The EATRIS Croatian representatives are:

  • The Croatian Board of Governors representative is Jelena Ilić-Dreven, with Smiljka Vikic-Topic as the alternate.
  • The Croatian Board of National Directors representative is Fran Borovečki, with Nada Bozina as the alternate.

Regarding the Observership, Jelena Ilić Dreven says: “The Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia expresses its strong support for Croatian participation as an Observer in the European research infrastructure – EATRIS. Advances in biomedical research, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, led to increasing insight into disease-related molecular mechanisms and consequently, to the need for its rapid implementation in the clinical use. Therefore, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine as well as many other biomedical research institutions in the Republic of Croatia have clearly declared their orientation towards translational research and translational medicine. Participation in EATRIS as an Observer will provide Croatian researchers with a great opportunity for networking, collaboration, access to state-of-the-art facilities, technologies, translational know-how as well as training and supporting services.“

EATRIS Operations & Finance Director Anton Ussi adds: “We are very excited to welcome Croatia as Observer in EATRIS-ERIC, who share our passion for patient-centric research and innovation. Given the exciting moment in Europe with the launch of the new work programmes, the timing is auspicious. We are looking forward to supporting the local team as they set up a multi-disciplinary national infrastructure offering, and work towards future membership.”

Fran Borovečki, representative on the EATRIS Board of National Directors for Croatia, comments: “The Center for Translational and Clinical Research at the Zagreb Medical School and University Hospital Center Zagreb was established in 2009 and has been involved in promoting and conducting translational approaches ever since. We have been following the excellent work EATRIS has been conducting in the field and for a while now have been working on joining the EATRIS efforts. Currently, there is a growing number of other institutions in Croatia which are also endeavouring in translational approaches and we believe that Croatian Observership will give a great boost to the ongoing efforts. We are honoured and grateful to be part of the EATRIS family.”

Nada Božina, alternate representative on the EATRIS Board of National Directors for Croatia, further comments on the Observership: “The Division of Pharmacogenomics and Therapy Individualisation at the University Hospital Center Zagreb and Zagreb Medical School has been involved in pharmacogenomics research for two decades. The main goal is exploring biomarkers of drug efficacy and toxicity and translation of knowledge into the clinical practice. We believe that the new opportunities that will open up through EATRIS will enhance our research efforts in the field of personalised pharmacotherapy.”

We very much look forward to Croatian involvement as we continue our mission to support researchers in developing their biomedical discoveries into novel translational tools and interventions for better health outcomes for society. See here for all of the latest updates about Croatia.

Press coverage about Croatia joining EATRIS as an Observer