Profile
Born in Valjevo, Serbia, on November 15, 1968.
He completed his elementary education (1983) and grammar school (1987) with top cumulative GPAs in the school generations. At that time, he has demonstrated a great knowledge and proficiency in mathematics and physics and has competed with great success at the republic level.
He earned his B.Sc., Dipl.Eng.-Master (1993) in control engineering and Magister (1995) in materials science and nanotechnology from the University of Belgrade (Serbia). In his magister’s thesis, a new methodology for C60 commercial production has been proposed. Several years later, in the United States of America (USA), the laser-based C60 synthesis has been optimized in terms of achieving the highest yields and production rates.
He obtained his Ph.D. (2002) in physical chemistry from Florida State University (USA), where he was employed as lecturer. In his doctoral dissertation, the structure of isolated atoms and their chemistry forming molecules have been shown to be a physical consequence of the wave-like nature of an electron and a novel concept, the delocalization shell-like structure of electrons, has been introduced. In this way, an official understanding relating traditional shells to atoms, not to the behavior of electrons, and present in most of the university textbooks in physics and chemistry has been disputed (P. M. Mitrasinovic, J. Comput. Chem. 22, 1387 (2001); J. Phys. Chem. A 106, 7026 (2002); J. Phys. Chem. A 106, 11262 (2002); Chem. Phys. 286, 1 (2003)).
During 2002, Dr. Mitrasinovic was a European Union Research Fellow at the University of Mons-Hainaut (Belgium). His work in Belgium has fundamentally established the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) as an invaluable tool for investigating surface chemistry problems and has employed the theory to determine the nature of the interfacial interactions between organic molecules and metallic surfaces from physically meaningful standpoints.
During 2003 and 2004, Dr. Mitrasinovic was an Izaak Walton Killam Fellow at Dalhousie University, Halifax (Canada). He has successfully developed reaction mechanisms for the cross-linking of DNA and tryptophan-containing peptides by ionizing radiation and has determined the physical conditions influencing the most likely reaction pathway. In addition, his new insights into the electronic basis of donor-acceptor interactions have placed the chemistry of donor-acceptor molecules on a more rational ground.
During 2005, Dr. Mitrasinovic was an IBM Research Scientist at Henri Poincare University, Nancy (France). His work in France resulted in proposing the possible ways of resolving structural ambiguities related to the conformational flexibility of the sugar-phosphate backbone of RNA in a 2.5-3 Ang. resolution range, which is typically attainable by experiment in case of large, biologically relevant nucleic acids.
Dr. Mitrasinovic was associate professor (2006-8) at the Center for Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Belgrade (Serbia), visiting professor (2009-13) at the Indian Institute of Technology - IIT Roorkee (India), invited professor (2011) at several universities in Japan (University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Nagoya University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University), guest lecturer (2011) at RIKEN Yokohama Institute (Japan), executive director (2008-15) of the Belgrade Institute of Science and Technology (Serbia), and principal scientific advisor and affiliate professor (2012-16) at Perth Science and Technology Consortium (Australia).
Dr. Mitrasinovic is professor and head of biophysical and chemical research, as well as distinguished president of the Belgrade Institute of Science and Technology (Serbia), visiting professor at Wakayama University (Japan), and invited professor at several European universities.
He has elucidated the molecular mechanism of the resistance of avian (H5N1) influenza A virus neuraminidase to the action of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) - the most effective, currently approved drug. Consequently, he has proposed the chemical structures of new H5N1 neuraminidase inhibitors aimed to circumvent Tamiflu resistance.
His research team has elucidated the most essential phenomena that characterize the radioresistance of prostate carcinoma cells to ionizing radiation at the molecular level. Accordingly, Prof. Mitrasinovic has elaborated an experimental and systems biology framework aimed to be generally applicable to the domain of cancer cell therapeutics.
Novel strategies for the structure-based design of new inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) - an important therapeutic target that is relevant for various types of cancers, have been discovered by Prof. Mitrasinovic.
He has elucidated various modes by which structurally different flavonoids, which make up a valuable source of prospective anti-cancer agents, interact with duplex DNA. As a consequence, the affinity and specificity issues related to the flavonoid-duplex DNA recognition modes have been rationalized.
In the context of anticancer and antiviral drug design, he proposed a series of strategies by which small ligand molecules can selectively recognize G-quadruplex DNA structures over all other nucleic acid structures, especially duplex forms that are most abundant in the genome.
Prof. Mitrasinovic has made several contributions to the understanding of how enzymes, such as CYP3A4, which is involved in drug metabolism, as well as caspases and phosphatases that play roles in cellular regulation and signaling, function at the molecular level. By utilizing advanced biomolecular modeling techniques, he has provided insights into the structural and functional aspects of these enzymes that are not accessible through other methods. His work suggested new experimental research aimed at elucidating the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of enzyme activity.
Computational biophysics and chemistry, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, and R&D project management are his current research interests. He is also interested in the philosophy and history of the European continent.
As a plenary/invited speaker, he has been lecturing at numerous international meetings, universities and institutes worldwide. Prof. Mitrasinovic has published more than 50 original scientific articles and 15 review papers in high-ranking international journals as single/leading author, 6 book chapters and 9 books. His book entitled Global View of the Fight Against Influenza (Nova Science Publishers, NY, USA, 2009) is dedicated to Prof. Dr. William Graeme Laver (1929-2008) - a leading avian influenza expert.
Prof. Mitrasinovic has been elected a full member of the European Society of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering since 2005 and has received several international recognitions: the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Award (2003-4) from Dalhousie University (Canada) in recognition of outstanding academic achievements, the Indian National Science Academy Professorship (2009-12), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Professorship (2011-12), and the Applied Academic Research Career Award (2012-16) from the Perth Science and Technology Consortium (Australia).
He speaks English, French, and Serbian.