About Fran Krstanović

Fran Krstanović, PhD

Postdoctoral researcher

fran.krstanovic@medri.uniri.hr

Fran received his master’s degree in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, in 2019. That same year, he joined Prof. Jonjić’s team at the Centre for Proteomics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, as a PhD student.

During his doctoral studies, Fran focused on understanding the biology of CMV infection in the brain and gained international research experience as a visiting scientist at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, TU Braunschweig, and Cardiff University. In 2025, he successfully defended his PhD thesis in the field of Biomedicine and Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka.

Fran has received several awards for his scientific and outreach work, including the State Award for Science Popularization and the “Bright Spark” Award from the Croatian Immunological Society. Fran is an active member of the Croatian Immunological Society and the Croatian Society for Neuroscience.

Selected Publications:

    1. Krstanović F, Mihalić A, Rashidi AS, Sitnik KM, Ruzsics Z, Čičin-Šain L, Verjans GMGM, Jonjić S, Brizić I. Neuron-restricted cytomegalovirus latency in the central nervous system regulated by CD4+ T-cells and IFN-γ. Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2025.
    2. Krapić M, Kavazović I, Mikašinović S, Mladenić K, Krstanović F, Seyhan G, Helmrath S, Camerini E, Brizić I, Peters FS, Schmidt-Supprian M, Polić B, Turk Wensveen T, Wensveen FM. NK cell-derived IFNγ mobilizes free fatty acids from adipose tissue to promote early B cell activation during viral infection. Nature Metabolism. 2025.
    3. Sitnik KM, Krstanović F, Gödecke N, Rand U, Kubsch T, Maaß H, Kim Y, Brizić I, Čičin-Šain L. Fibroblasts are a site of murine cytomegalovirus lytic replication and Stat1-dependent latent persistence in vivo. Nature Communication. 2023.
    4. Schubert M, Bertoglio F, Steinke S, Heine PA, Ynga-Durand MA, Maass H, Sammartino JC, Cassaniti I, Zuo F, Du L, Korn J, Milošević M, Wenzel EV, Krstanović F, Polten S, Pribanić-Matešić M, Brizić I, Baldanti F, Hammarström L, Dübel S, Šustić A, Marcotte H, Strengert M, Protić A, Piralla A, Pan-Hammarström Q, Čičin-Šain L, Hust M. Human serum from SARS-CoV-2-vaccinated and COVID-19 patients shows reduced binding to the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. BMC Medicine. 2022.
    5. Kveštak D, Juranić Lisnić V, Lisnić B, Tomac J, Golemac M, Brizić I, Indenbirken D, Cokarić Brdovčak M, Bernardini G, Krstanović F, Rožmanić C, Grundhoff A, Krmpotić A, Britt WJ, Jonjić S. NK/ILC1 cells mediate neuroinflammation and brain pathology following congenital CMV infection. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2021.

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