The Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN) was established at the Chair for General Physiology and Biophysics, Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry "Ivan Đaja" at the Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade. The goals of CTN are scientific, professional, and educational activities in the field of translational research in neurobiology and biomedicine, which require a higher degree of independence and functional connection with other participants in this process.
According to the World Health Organization estimation, chronic neurodegenerative diseases will become the second leading cause of mortality by 2040 due to the lack of effective therapies and the impossibility of complete cure. To overcome the shortcomings of current therapeutic options, new therapeutic approaches are continuously being studied and developed, which include pharmacological and targeted molecular therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and electromagnetic brain stimulation. Due to inadequate physicochemical properties (size, hydrophilicity, charge), many pharmacotherapeutics do not pass through the blood-brain barrier, resulting in a large number of them, which have shown high potential in the preclinical research phase, not advancing to the clinical phase. In addition to new effective therapeutics, there is a constant need for reliable molecular markers that would enable timely detection and diagnosis of diseases, as well as a need for carriers for targeted drug delivery.
Scientific Excellence and Innovations in Neurosciences
Members of the CTN team have developed collaborations with domestic and foreign laboratories for assessing the effects and bioavailability of newly synthesized compounds. The results of these collaborations are two doctoral dissertations and about thirty scientific papers published in renowned scientific journals over the past five years. Cooperation with clinical institutions further contributes to the translation of basic research into clinical practice, enabling the testing of new therapeutic strategies and improving diagnostic methods.
The CTN team stands out for its innovative research strategy, continuous improvement of team members, and the introduction of modern methods and experimental techniques in neurosciences. In addition, CTN actively conducts research on several models of neurodegenerative diseases in search of a better understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches.
In the last five years, CTN has organized twelve methodological workshops aimed at students, doctoral candidates, and researchers, providing them with the opportunity to gain practical knowledge of modern techniques.
Research in Neurosciences
The scientific goal of CTN is basic and translational research within ongoing projects of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia and other national and international funds, aimed at understanding the molecular basis of the action of new pharmacological and neuromodulatory approaches in the treatment of human neurological diseases, primarily Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, and Autism. These studies involve the application of modern molecular, biochemical, cellular, behavioral, and systemic approaches to research.
New therapeutics testing
The professional aspect of CTN’s work is focused on the examination and assessment of the potential of new therapeutics and neuromodulators, as well as the study of the passage of natural and newly synthesized pharmacotherapeutics through the blood-brain barrier. Experimental work is based on the principles of good laboratory practice in the process of discovering new therapeutics and includes screening and validation of potential therapeutics through a battery of standardized primary and secondary in vitro tests, as well as pharmacological and toxicological evaluation of the efficacy of selected candidates in the preclinical phase of drug development.
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