Martina Rinčić
She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine at the Catholic University of Croatia. She graduated from the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, in 2007. From 2008 to 2014, she worked as a research assistant at the Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. During her postgraduate studies, she completed professional training in the Laboratory for Molecular Cytogenetics (headed by Prof. Thomas Liehr) at the Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, from October 2009 to September 2011, supported by the Croatian Science Foundation’s PhD Student Scholarship (Doctoral Training Program – 03.01). She defended her doctoral dissertation on neurodevelopmental disorder genetics in 2014 at the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. From 2016 to 2025, she led the Laboratory for Molecular Cytogenetics at the Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb.
SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH INTERESTS:
genomics, neurodevelopmental disorders
COURSES:
Head and Neck
Control and Supply Systems
Trunk and Viscera
PROJECTS:
Team Member:
MZOŠ “Molecular Cytogenetics in the Evaluation of Intellectual Disability of Unknown Etiology”, led by Prof. Lukrecija Brečević, Ph.D. (2007–2013); collaborator
HIT “Targeted aCGH Chips for the Diagnosis of Neurodevelopmental Disorders”, led by Assoc. Prof. Fran Borovečki, Ph.D. (2011–2013); collaborator
DAAD “Post-translational Protein Modifications in the Pathophysiology of Parkinson’s Disease”, led by Assoc. Prof. Fran Borovečki, Ph.D. (2014–2015); collaborator
University Support 2015 “The Effect of Prenatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury on mRNA Translation and Neocortex Development”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
University Support 2016 “The Impact of Prenatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Insult on Cortical Lamination”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
University Support 2018 “Transient Hypoxic-Ischemic Insult in the Mouse Brain and Neurogenesis”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
University Support 2019 “Transient Hypoxic-Ischemic Insult in the Mouse Brain and Neurogenesis”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
University Support 2020 “Gene Expression in the Cerebral Cortex After Prenatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
Adris Foundation “The Mystery of Exosomal Messengers: From Cellular Alarm to Signals for Other Cells (or: How Croatian Scientists on Three Continents Can Jointly Discover New Therapeutic Approaches to Neurodevelopmental Disorders?)”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D.; collaborator
DAAD–MZOŠ “Post-translational Protein Modifications in the Pathophysiology of Parkinson’s Disease” (2014–2015); collaborator
Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) “Genetic Mechanisms of Lysosomal Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease”, led by Prof. Fran Borovečki, Ph.D. (2014–2016); collaborator
HRZZ – UKF “The Role of the RNA-Binding Protein CELF1 in Human Neuronal Development”, led by Assoc. Prof. Željka Krsnik, Ph.D. (2020–2023); collaborator
HRZZ “The Role of the Blood–Brain Barrier, Innate Immunity and Tau Protein Oligomerization in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease”, led by Prof. Goran Šimić, Ph.D. (2020–2024); collaborator
NPOO, Targeted Scientific Research “Identification and Validation of Molecular Inflammation Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Schizophrenia”, led by Prof. Goran Šimić, Ph.D. (2024–2026); collaborator
HRZZ “Human Prenatal Cerebral Nexus: An Unexplored Spatiotemporal Multidimensional Compartmental Translational Approach”, led by Academician Ivica Kostović (2025–2027); collaborator
Leader:
HAZU Foundation “Genetic Basis of Autism Spectrum Disorders – Next-Generation Panel Sequencing” (2016); principal investigator
Adris Foundation “How Different Are We as Humans? Diversity of Evolutionarily New Genes in Neurodevelopmental Disorders” (2023–2024); principal investigator
DAAD–MZO “Structural Variations of Evolutionarily New Genes Underlying Neurodevelopmental Disorders” (2024–2025); principal investigator
