About

Dr Danica Vojisavljevic (also known as Dana), currently lectures in Physiology in the College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences. She completed her PhD at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University Australia, in 2017. The focus of her PhD was looking at the effects of premature birth and fetal growth restriction on kidney development and function in the neonate. To achieve this, Dana’s research projects included both the use of animal models (sheep; in collaboration with the Ritchie Centre, Monash University, Australia and The University of UTAH) and clinical studies (undertaken at Monash Medical Centre, Australia and Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia) to observe changes in kidney development and function in early life in response to intra-uterine and extra-uterine environments.

More recently, Dana has expanded her clinical research with a particular focus on the prevention and diagnosis of neonatal acute kidney injury. She is part of the Perinatal Neonatal Research Group at Townsville University Hospital and through this strong collaboration her current projects are dedicated to solving the conundrum of acute kidney injury in neonates and children up to 2 years of age; with a particular focus on development and translation of novel biomarkers to improve early detection of kidney injury.

Dana has a keen research interest in understanding the relationships between kidney health and preterm birth, fetal growth restriction and maternal health. 

Teaching
  • BM1001: Introduction to Biomedicine (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1002: Anatomy and Physiology 1 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1011: Physiological Systems and Processes 1 (Level 1; CNS & TSV)
  • BM1031: Anatomy and Physiology for Occupational Therapy 1 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1032: Anatomy and Physiology for Occupational Therapy 2 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1041: Anatomy and Physiology for Physiotherapy 1 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1042: Anatomy and Physiology for Physiotherapy 2 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1051: Anatomy and Physiology for Speech Pathology 1 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1052: Anatomy and Physiology for Speech Pathology 2 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1061: Anatomy and Physiology for Sport and Exercise Science 1 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1062: Anatomy and Physiology for Sport and Exercise Science 2 (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1110: Molecules to Microbes (Level 1; TSV)
  • BM1210: Structure to Function: Cells to Systems (Level 1; TSV)
  • PP2201: Medical Physiology 2 (Level 2; TSV)
Interests
Research
  • 2019 - present: Perinatal Neonatal Research Group, Townsville University Hospital.
  • Investigating the early origins of kidney disease and novel biomarkers of early kidney injury in neonates and infants.
  • Premature birth, fetal growth restriction and kidney health.
  • Maternal health and neonatal outcome followed up to 2 years of age.
Teaching
  • Biomedicine Home Groups Coordinator.
  • Deliver Physiology Content to Allied Health, Biomedical Science and Nursing Students.
Experience
  • 2020 to present - Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville, Australia)
  • 2019 to 2020 - Associate Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University (Townsville, Australia)
  • 2018 to 2019 - Lecturer, School of Biomedical Sciences, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
  • 2017 to 2018 - Postdoctoral Researcher & Teaching Associate, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
  • 2012 to 2017 - Teaching Associate, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
  • 2012 to 2017 - PhD, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)
Research Disciplines
Socio-Economic Objectives
Honours
Awards
  • 2018 - Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology 2018 Publication Excellence Award (Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University).
  • 2017 - Anatomy and Developmental Biology High Achieving Award for an exceptional contribution to teaching programmes (Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University).
  • 2013 to 2016 - Anatomy and Developmental Biology Postgraduate Scholarship over 3.5 years (Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University).
Memberships
  • 2013 to 2022 - Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand
Other
  • 2012 to 2017 - PhD thesis entitled: The effects of premature birth and intrauterine growth restriction on kidney development and function in the neonate
Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles
Other research outputs
Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service - Study Education Research Trust Account (SERTA)

Assessment of Renal Function in Neonates and infants using Cystatin C.

Indicative Funding
$24,000 over 2 years
Summary
Diagnosis of early acute kidney injury (AKI) can prevent renal failure in babies (<2 years of age). This non-invasive method validation study will utilise parallel alternative method testing for renal function tests, to examine the clinical applicability and accuracy of implementing Cystatin-C (Cys-C), as a preferred biomarker for early AKI by: (1) determining if Cys-C is a more sensitive marker of impaired renal function and decline compared to serum creatinine in this cohort; (2) determine if eGFR derived from Cys-C is a more sensitive predictor of renal function decline; and (3) produce a clinical reference range for Cys-C for this cohort.
Investigators
Andrew White, Yoga Kandasamy, Danica Vojisavljevic, Donna Rudd, Nathan Reeks and Teal Mogford (Townsville Hospital and Health Service, College of Public Health and Medical & Vet Sciences)
Keywords
Cystatin-C; Renal Function; Biomarker; Acute Kidney Injury; Neonatal
Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Completed
  • Validation of urinary nephrin assay as a novel biomarker for determining early glomerular injury (2024, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.

  • 5+ collaborations
  • 4 collaborations
  • 3 collaborations
  • 2 collaborations
  • 1 collaboration
  • Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)

Connect with me

Email
Phone
Location
Advisory Accreditation
Secondary Advisor
Find me on…
Icon for ORCID profile Icon for Scopus Author page Icon for Twitter profile page Icon for LinkedIn profile page Icon for ResearchGate profile Icon for Publons reviewer profile

Similar to me

  1. Dr Stephanie Baker
    Engineering
  2. A/Prof Ulf Schmitz
    Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Biology
  3. A/Prof Donna Rudd
    Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Biology