Aleksandra Divac Rankov, PhD is a Full Research Professor and the Head of the Group for Functional Genomics and Cellular Toxicology at the IMGGE. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms linking environmental factors with human disease, with particular emphasis on chronic respiratory diseases and cancer. She investigates how components of the environmental exposome influence gene regulation, cellular signaling and disease development.

Her work integrates approaches from functional genomics and toxicogenomics to study molecular responses to environmental stressors, with emphasis on electronic cigarettes. A major objective of her research is the identification of molecular pathways and biomarkers associated with disease susceptibility and response to therapy.

A central experimental platform of her research is the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) disease models. Her group develops and applies transgenic and tumor xenograft zebrafish models to investigate gene–environment interactions and mechanisms of disease progression in vivo. These models are integrated with in vitro 2D and 3D cell culture systems and advanced multi-omics approaches, including transcriptomics, proteomics, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics.

Dr Divac Rankov currently coordinates the Horizon Europe Twinning project ZeNCure – Enhancing Non-Communicable Disease Research Excellence through Zebrafish Capacity Building, which aims to strengthen zebrafish-based biomedical research and international collaboration. She is actively involved in mentoring doctoral and graduate students and participates in several international scientific societies and networks in the fields of zebrafish disease modeling, respiratory research and cancer biology. She really enjoys her involvement in science popularization and communication, and was a coordinator of European Researchers Night project, SCIMFONICOM 2018-19.