Ivan Đikić (born 28 May 1966
) is a Croatian-German molecular biologist who is the Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II at
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
.
Scientific career
In 1991, he earned his MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...
.
After finishing his medical studies he continued to pursue his PhD thesis in molecular biology at the
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...
and at the
New York University School of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
until 1997. He continued to work as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of
Joseph Schlessinger
Joseph Schlessinger (born Josip Schlessinger; 26 March 1945) is a Yugoslav-born Israeli- American biochemist and biophysician. He is chair of the Pharmacology Department at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, as wel ...
in New York from 1995 to 1997 before starting his own group at the
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Ludwig Cancer Research is an international community of scientists focused on cancer research, with the goal of preventing and controlling cancer. It encompasses the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, an international non-profit organization f ...
in Uppsala (Sweden).
In 2002, Đikić was appointed as a Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt. He followed in Werner Müller-Esterl's footsteps as Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II in 2009. In addition, Đikić was the first Scientific Director (2009–2013) of the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, a cross-faculty, interdisciplinary institute at Goethe University which was founded as part of the Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes. He is speaker of the Collaborative Research Center 1177 on selective autophagy, and speaker of the LOEWE program "Ubiquitin Networks".
Đikić has an affiliation as Professor with the School of Medicine University of Split, where he established an outstation lab in Split University and transferring technologies to Croatia. In addition, Đikić has been recognized by one of the highest civilian honours,
The Order of Duke Branimir, bestowed by the President of Croatia.
Đikić is member of several academic societies, including the number of organizations including the
European Molecular Biology Organization
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...
(since 2004), the
World Academy of Art and Science
The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), founded in 1960, is an international non-governmental scientific organization and global network of more than 800 scientists, artists, and scholars in more than 90 countries.
It serves as a forum for s ...
(since 2008), German National
Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...
(since 2010),
the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
(since 2019), the Croatian Academy of Medical Science, and the European Academy of Sciences.
He is a member of the editorial board for ''
Cell
Cell most often refers to:
* Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life
Cell may also refer to:
Locations
* Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...
''.
Research
Đikić's research focuses on deciphering molecular mechanisms of cellular signaling pathways, which have a high relevance to human diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and inflammation. Early on, he started to focus on
ubiquitin
Ubiquitin is a small (8.6 kDa) regulatory protein found in most tissues of eukaryotic organisms, i.e., it is found ''ubiquitously''. It was discovered in 1975 by Gideon Goldstein and further characterized throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Fo ...
to understand how this modification controls multiple cellular functions, and managed to prove a concept of ubiquitin signal recognition by specialized domains serving as specific receptors. More recently, his team has revealed the functions of linear ubiquitin chains in pathogen defense and overall immune response. He expanded his research to the field of selective autophagy, recognizing the enormous impact of the LC3/GABARAP signaling network displaying striking mechanistic similarities to ubiquitin. One major focus is on the crosstalk between autophagy and endocytic machineries, and in this context he has gained fundamental insight in autophagic processes at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER-phagy).
Education
In 1998, Đikić initiated the series of Dubrovnik Cell Signalling Conferences, which has been sponsored by EMBO continuously since 2004. Moreover, he is actively involved in organization of EMBO Meetings (Ubiquitin Meetings in 2015, 2013; Autophagy Meeting 2011, Cellular Microbiology/Cell Biology Meeting in 2010, 2008), EMBO Courses (2012, 2010, 2008, 2006 on Ubiquitin/SUMO; 2010 on Ubiquitin & DNA damage) as well as Keystone and CSH Meetings. In July 2016, he was hosting the Frankfurt Conference on Ubiquitin and Autophagy together with Volker Dötsch, Hubert Serve and Heide Genau.
Personal life
He's married to Inga Đikić with whom he has three children. He's a Christian of
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
denomination and has stated publicly that he sees no conflict between
science and religion
The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...
.
Honors and awards
* 1997–2003 Research Award, Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Germany
* 2000–2004 Award of the Strategic Funds for Young Leaders, Sweden
* 2002 Lilla Fernström Award, Lund, Sweden
* 2006
AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research, Washington, US
* 2006 Young Cancer Researcher Award, European Association for Cancer Research, Budapest, Hungary
* 2006 Binder Innovation Prize, German Society for Cell Biology, Braunschweig, Germany
* 2006 Biomedical Science Prize 2006, Glaxo-Smith-Kline-Foundation, Munich, Germany
* 2008 Award of the International Society of Blood Purification, Brijuni Islands
* 2008 City of Split Award – Annual Prize for Science, Croatia
* 2009 Sir Hans Krebs Prize, Medical Faculty Hannover, Hannover, Germany
* 2010 German Cancer Prize, DKG Berlin, Germany
* 2010–2015
European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, Brüssel, Belgium
* 2010
Order of Duke Branimir
The Order of Duke Branimir ( hr, Red kneza Branimira) is the 7th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on April 1, 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in promoting Croatia in international relations. I ...
for international promotion of Croatia
* 2013
Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine 2013, Jung Foundation for Science and Research, Hamburg, Germany
* 2013
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (german: link=no, Förderpreis für deutsche Wissenschaftler im Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Programm der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft), in short Leibniz Prize, is awarded by the German Research Foundation to ...
of the German Research Foundation, Bonn, Germany
* 2013
William C. Rose Award 2013, American Association for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry for outstanding achievements, Boston, US
* 2014/2015 Vallee Visiting Professorship, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US
* 2015
Member of the Academia Europaea
Membership of the Academia Europaea (MAE) is an award conferred by the Academia Europaea to individuals that have demonstrated "sustained academic excellence". Membership is by invitation only by existing MAE only and judged during a peer review se ...
* 2019
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States of America, United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bow ...
* 2023
Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine
Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one of the member states of t ...
References
External links
Bibliographyat the
United States National Library of Medicine
The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library.
Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikic, Ivan
Living people
1966 births
Scientists from Zagreb
21st-century Croatian scientists
American medical researchers
Croatian biologists
German molecular biologists
School of Medicine, University of Zagreb alumni
New York University Grossman School of Medicine alumni
Croatian expatriates in Germany
Croatian expatriates in the United States
Members of Academia Europaea
Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization