Dr. Gordana Tovilović Kovačević

Gordana Tovilovic Kovacevic graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Belgrade in 2002. Since October 2003 she has been working at the Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic” – National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Biochemistry. She defended Master's thesis entitled “Biochemical and neuropharmacological study of the diethyl ether extract of Gentiana kochiana” at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade in 2007. In 2012, she received PhD title from the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, with a dissertation entitled “Protective mechanism of arylpiperazine-dopaminergic D2 ligands on nitric oxide and 6-hydroxydopamine induced SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell death”.

Her first research interest was in neuropharmacology, when she investigated the interaction between newly synthesized antipsychotic ligands and dopaminergic/serotonergic neurotransmitter systems in the rat brain. Subsequently, she studied the role of autophagy in neurodegeneration (Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, neuroinflammation) and in anticancer activity of new, potential chemotherapeutics. She is particularly dedicated to researching the biological and pharmacological potential of xanthones, secondary metabolites from plants belonging to the Gentianaceae family.

In her work she uses immunoblot, flow cytometry and cell culture transfection techniques.

Dr. Tovilovic Kovacevic gave invited lectures at the 1st International Conference on Plant Biology in Subotica (2013) and the 3rd Serbian Congress of Biology in Zlatibor (2022).

As a member of the team with Dr. Kristina Janjetovic (team leader) and Dr. Marina Stamenkovic, she received a “Pokreni se za nauku” grant in 2019 to study the anti-cancer effect of pantoprazole.

Since 2021, her research has been supported by an institutional grant awarded to the Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic” by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia.

Dr. Tovilovic Kovacevic is a member of the Serbian Society of Neuroscience (DNS) and the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS).