Maja Žutić
Senior Assistant at the Department of Psychology, on courses in research methodology, biological, clinical, and health psychology. She earned her Master’s degree in Psychology at the Catholic University of Croatia (2018) and a PhD with highest honours (summa cum laude) from the University of Zagreb (2024). In her dissertation, Biopsychosocial determinants of peripartum depressiveness, she applied a rare interdisciplinary approach, combining clinical psychology and molecular biology.
After an internship at Elementary School Rapska, she joined the Catholic University of Croatia (2020). She participated in numerous high-impact national and international scientific projects on peripartum mental health, where she obtained several leadership roles. She received training in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and specialised training in peripartum mental health and advanced statistics at renowned European institutions.
She received four international doctoral scholarships and several awards, including a Doctoral Prize at the 45th Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology Conference (2025).
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Peripartum mental health, especially peripartum depression and anxiety disorders, breastfeeding and maternal mental health, interrelation of peripartum metabolic and mental health, peripartum stress, birth trauma, mother-infant bonding, development and validation of questionnaires, epigenetics, biopsychosocial framework.
COURSES:
Reproductive Mental Health;
Basics of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy;
Epigenetics in Psychology;
Practicum in Methodology;
Introduction to Clinical Psychology;
Clinical Psychodiagnostics 1;
Psychology of Rehabilitation
PROJECTS:
2024–2027 Collaborator on the project Uncovering Links between Peripartum Mental and Metabolic Health through Metabolomic and Genetic Analyses (LinkMe) (Croatian Science Foundation)
2023–2027 COST Action Maternal Perinatal Stress and Adverse Outcomes in the Offspring: Maximising Infants' Development (TREASURE) (COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology); Core Group member, Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator, Working Group member
2022-2026 Collaborator on the project Understanding, predicting, and treating depression in pregnancy to improve mothers and offspring mental health outcomes (HappyMums) (Horizon Europe)
2022–2025 Collaborator on the project Determinants, outcomes, and interrelation of mental and physical health during pregnancy and postpartum (MumHealth) (Catholic University of Croatia)
2020-2025 Doctoral candidate on the Young Researchers’ Career Development Project – Training New Doctoral Students, DOK-2020-01-4127 (Croatian Science Foundation)
2019–2023 COST Action Research Innovation and Sustainable Pan-European Network in Peripartum Depression Disorder (Riseup-PPD) (COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology); Core Group member, Working Group Co-Leader, Gender-balance and Young Researchers Coordinator, Management Committee substitute, Working Group member
2019–2023 COST Action Perinatal Mental Health and Birth-Related Trauma: Maximising best practice and optimal outcomes (DEVOTION) (COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology); Working Group member
2018–2023 Collaborator and a Doctoral candidate on the project Influence of maternal metabolic state on placental and neonatal serotonin system: from DNA methylation to protein function (PLaNS) (Croatian Science Foundation)
