About Maja Cokarić Brdovčak

Maja Cokarić Brdovčak, PhD

Assistant professor

maja.cokaric@medri.uniri.hr

Asst. Prof. Maja Cokarić Brdovčak, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka. She earned her Master’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Zagreb (2006) and her PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Rijeka (2014). Following her doctoral studies, she completed postdoctoral training at the Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, University of Rijeka, focusing on herpesvirus biology and the role of non-coding RNAs in viral replication.

Since 2019, she has been a member of the Center for Proteomics, where her research focuses on the pathogenesis of viral infections, particularly immune evasion mechanisms, and the development of cytomegalovirus-based vaccine vectors. She has participated in numerous national and international research projects, including Croatian Science Foundation grants and the Scientific Center of Excellence for Viral Immunology and Vaccine Development (CerVirVac, 2014–2024), and collaborates with industry partners on novel viral vector vaccine development.

Dr. Cokarić Brdovčak is the author of over 15 scientific papers and a recipient of several awards, including the Best Young Scientist Award (Faculty of Medicine, 2015), the Young Scientists – New Group Leaders Award (Croatian Immunological Society, 2023), and the Croatian National Science Award for Popularization and Promotion of Science (2023). She has also served on organizing committees for several scientific conferences, most recently the European Congress of Virology (Cavtat, 2025).

Selected Publications:

    1. Karner D, Kvestak D, Kucan Brlic P, Cokaric Brdovcak M, Lisnic B, Brizic I, Juranic Lisnic V, Golemac M, Tomac J, Krmpotic A, Karkeni E, Libri V, Mella S, Legname G, Altmeppen HC, Hasan M, Jonjic S, Lenac Rovis T. Prion protein alters viral control and enhances pathology after perinatal cytomegalovirus infection. Nature Communication. 2024
    2. Metzdorf K, Jacobsen H, Kim Y, Teixeira Alves LG, Kulkarni U, Brdovčak MC, Materljan J, Eschke K, Chaudhry MZ, Hoffmann M, Bertoglio F, Ruschig M, Hust M, Šustić M, Krmpotić A, Jonjić S, Widera M, Ciesek S, Pöhlmann S, Landthaler M, Čičin-Šain L. A single-dose MCMV-based vaccine elicits long-lasting immune protection in mice against distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants. Frontiers in Immunology. 2024
    3. Marinović S, Lenartić M, Mladenić K, Šestan M, Kavazović I, Benić A, Krapić M, Rindlisbacher L, Cokarić Brdovčak M, Sparano C, Litscher G, Turk Wensveen T, Mikolašević I, Fučkar Čupić D, Bilić-Zulle L, Steinle A, Waisman A, Hayday A, Tugues S, Becher B, Polić B, Wensveen FM. NKG2D-mediated detection of metabolically stressed hepatocytes by innate-like T cells is essential for initiation of NASH and fibrosis. Science Immunology. 2023
    4. Cokarić Brdovčak M, Materljan J, Šustić M, Ravlić S, Ružić T, Lisnić B, Miklić K, Brizić I, Pribanić Matešić M, Juranić Lisnić V, Halassy B, Rončević D, Knežević Z, Štefan L, Bertoglio F, Schubert M, Čičin-Šain L, Markotić A, Jonjić S, Krmpotić A. ChAdOx1-S adenoviral vector vaccine applied intranasally elicits superior mucosal immunity compared to the intramuscular route of vaccination. Eurupean Jpurnal of Immunology. 2022
    5. Šustić M, Cokarić Brdovčak M, Lisnić B, Materljan J, Juranić Lisnić V, Rožmanić C, Indenbirken D, Hiršl L, Busch DH, Brizić I, Krmpotić A, Jonjić S. Memory CD8 T Cells Generated by Cytomegalovirus Vaccine Vector Expressing NKG2D Ligand Have Effector-Like Phenotype and Distinct Functional Features. Frontiers in Immunology. 2021

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