Jadranka Lončarek is a Croatian cell and molecular biologist researching the molecular mechanism of

centrosome In cell biology, the centrosome (Latin centrum 'center' + Greek sōma 'body') (archaically cytocentre) is an organelle that serves as the main microtubule organizing center (MTOC) of the animal cell, as well as a regulator of cell-cycle progre ...

biogenesis Spontaneous generation is a Superseded scientific theories, superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from abiotic component, non-living matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was Hypoth ...

and their function, with particular attention on numerical control of centrosome formation in non-transformed and cancerous human cells.

Education

Lončarek earned a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology at the

Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb Faculty of Science (,lit. the Faculty of natural sciences and mathematics abbr: ''PMF'') is a faculty of the University of Zagreb that comprises seven departments - biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geophysics, geography and geology. Th ...

. Her dissertation in 2002 was titled ''The expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator gene in bladder carcinoma cell lines''. Her doctoral advisor was Jasna Sorić. She completed

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

in the laboratory of at the

Wadsworth Center The Wadsworth Center, located in Albany, New York, United States, is the research-intensive public health laboratory of the New York State Department of Health. History The Wadsworth Center, originally the New York State's Antitoxin Laboratory, wa ...

, where she studied the mechanisms of

centriole In cell biology a centriole is a cylindrical organelle composed mainly of a protein called tubulin. Centrioles are found in most eukaryotic cells, but are not present in conifers ( Pinophyta), flowering plants ( angiosperms) and most fungi, an ...

duplication and

mitotic spindle In cell biology, the spindle apparatus is the cytoskeletal structure of eukaryotic cells that forms during cell division to separate sister chromatids between daughter cells. It is referred to as the mitotic spindle during mitosis, a process ...

formation.

Career and research

Lončarek joined the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

in 2011 as a Stadtman investigator at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

. She studies the centrosome cycle in proliferating cells and is head of the Centrosome Biology Section of the Cancer Innovation Laboratory. Lončarek received

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

from NIH in 2020. Lončarek researches the molecular mechanism of

and their function. She studies the

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and cellular processes associated with their activity. Lončarek aims to unravel the cellular regulatory pathways that control a centrosome number in normal and pathological conditions such as human

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

. Her laboratory uses

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

and genetic approaches and combines them with conventional and

super resolution microscopy Super-resolution microscopy is a series of techniques in optical microscopy that allow such images to have resolutions higher than those imposed by the diffraction limit, which is due to the diffraction of light. Super-resolution imaging techni ...

and

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lončarek, Jadranka Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) National Institutes of Health people 21st-century biologists 21st-century women scientists Croatian medical researchers Women medical researchers Croatian women scientists Croatian biologists 21st-century Croatian scientists Croatian emigrants to the United States Expatriate academics in the United States Cell biologists Women molecular biologists Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb alumni