Marija Cumbo Stikić is a Research assistant in the Group for molecular biology of hemostasis.  The main focus of her research is the investigation of molecular mechanisms linking hemostasis and malignant diseases. She is also involved in studying the molecular mechanisms of thrombosis, as well as the development and implementation of new hemostatic assays. During her PhD studies, she investigated the expression and activation of prothrombin in colorectal cancer, as well as the roles of prothrombin and thrombin in the development of this disease.

Marija completed her bachelor's studies in 2015. at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, in the Molecular biology and physiology program. At the same faculty, she completed her master’s studies in 2016 in the Experimental biomedicine module, and in the same year enrolled in PhD studies within the Molecular biology of eukaryotes module. She was a volunteer at the Institute during her bachelor studies, and later a scholarship recipient of the Ministry of Education and Technological Development as a doctoral student. From 2018 to 2021, she was employed as a Junior researcher, and from 2021 as a Research assistant. Outside of research, Marija enjoys board games, handicrafts such as embroidery, and traveling.