Methodological Pitfalls of Investigating Lipid Rafts in the Brain: What Are We Still Missing?

Kristina Mlinac-Jerkovic is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia. She graduated from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb and obtained her doctoral degree from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb in 2012 (PhD in Biochemistry). She is a member of the Laboratory for Molecular Neurobiology and Neurochemistry, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb. Her research interests include cellular membrane organization, lipid rafts, the influence of complex glycosphingolipid gangliosides on membrane proteins and ion homeostasis, the role of gangliosides in health and neurological, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.

Prof. Dr. Svjetlana Kalanj-Bognar is a Full Professor at the Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia. Her skills and expertise include Western Blot Analysis, PCR, Molecular Cell Biology, Gene Expression, Cell Line Culture, Electrophoresis, Immunohistochemistry, Primary Cell Culture, Medical Chemistry and Teaching.

Marija Heffer is a tenured professor at the J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek Medical School. She completed her postgraduate studies in chemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Zagreb and obtained her Ph.D. in 1996. During postgraduate study, she was awarded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) grant and worked at the Institute for Zoology at Hohenheim University (1992, Stuttgart, Germany) and the Institute for Cell Culture Technology, University of Bielefeld, (1994, Bielefeld, Germany). As a fellow of the Croatian Ministry of Science, she finished her postdoctoral training at the Departments of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, USA (1997-1998). From 1990 to 2011, she worked at the School of Medicine in Zagreb, initially as an assistant, and later as an associate professor at the Department of Biology. After 1998 she lectured at the Department of Biology and Department of Anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine Osijek, where she established the Laboratory for Neurobiology and at the present time she is the chair of the Department of Medical Biology and Genetics. She is involved in the neurochemistry of brain glycolipids, especially in the role of gangliosides in the development, maturation, and regeneration of the vertebrate brain. She joined RECOOP HST Consortium/Association in 2010 and is working on the effects of stress and diet.

Prof.Senka Blažetić is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek in Osijek, Croatia. Prof. Senka Blažetić’s skills and expertise include Biochemistry, Biomedical Science, Immunology, Brain, Ganglioside, Immunochemistry, Glycobiology and Neuroscience.