Emilija Brdarić, PhD, is an Assistant Research Professor in the Probiotics and Microbiota–Host Interaction Group at the IMGGE. Her research is primarily focused on molecular microbiology, with particular emphasis on the health-promoting properties of probiotic microorganisms and their bioactive metabolites.

She obtained her BSc degree in Biology in 2015 and her MSc degree in Molecular Biology and Physiology in 2016 from the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Biology. In 2023, she defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “Characterization of the molecular basis of the protective effect of exopolysaccharides from lactobacilli in the DA rat model exposed to prolonged cadmium(II) exposure” at the same faculty.

Her scientific interests are centered on investigating the protective effects of bioactive molecules produced by lactic acid bacteria, the identification and characterization of next-generation probiotics, as well as the immunomodulatory and neuroactive potential of microbial metabolites. She also explores the role of the gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of various host disorders, with a particular focus on host–microbe interactions under conditions of toxic and inflammatory stress.

In 2019, she was awarded a FEMS Research and Training Grant, which enabled a three-month research stay at the Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA-CSIC) in Spain. She has supervised a master’s thesis at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Biology and has contributed to numerous national and international research projects and several industry-driven R&D collaborations.

She is an active member of the Serbian Society for Molecular Biology and the Immunological Society of Serbia. Additionally, she was a member of the DIAPET team, which competed in the national contest for the Best Technological Innovation in the Republic of Serbia.