news from the society of medical biochemists of serbia · 12 april 2012 appointed new officers for...

158 News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia

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J Med Biochem 32: 158, 2013 News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia

NEWS FROM THE SOCIETY OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTS OF SERBIA

Prepared by Sneàna Jovi~i}

Member of the IFCC eNews Working GroupInstitute of Medical Biochemistry, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

Sneàna Jovi~i} graduated at the School ofPharmacy, University of Belgrade in 2002. Imme -diately after graduation, she has started to work atthe Center for Medical Biochemistry in Clinical Cen -ter of Serbia in Belgrade. She has been employed atthe Department for Polyclinic Laboratory Diagnostics,in the Section for Automated Biochemical Analyses.She completed specialist studies in Medical Bio -chemistry in 2011. In September 2012 she wasappointed the Head of the Laboratory at Clinics forCardiosurgery, Vascular and Endosurgery andCardiology. She has published as author or co-authormore than 30 original papers, professional papersand presentations at national and international con-gresses and conferences in clinical chemistry andlaboratory medicine. She is the member of theSociety of Medical Biochemists of Serbia, where sheis engaged as the treasurer, president of the Com -mittee for IT Activities, and member of Committeesfor Publishing Activities; External Quality Control;Professional Engagement of Young Biochemists, andfor Cooperation with IFCC, EFLM, BCLF and RelatedNational Organizations. She is the member of theIFCC eNewsletter Working Group. Since September2011 she is the Managing Editor of Journal of Me -dical Biochemistry. Also, she has been the member ofthe Assembly of the Chamber of Biochemists ofSerbia since its foundation. Since the year 2009 shehas been engaged as the assistant for experimentalteaching at the School of Pharmacy, University ofBelgrade.Sneàna Jovi~i}

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NEW OFFICERS APPOINTED IN THE SOCIETY OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTS OF SERBIA

Prof. dr Nada Majki}-Singh, National Representative Prim. dr Zorica [umarac, President

The Excecutive Board of the Society of MedicalBiochemists of Serbia (SMBS) on the meeting held12 April 2012 appointed new officers for SocietyBoard and Representations.

Prof. Dr Nada Majki}-Singh is appointed forNational Representative and dr Zorica [umarac forPresident of the Society of the Medical Biochemists ofSerbia. According to the Statute of the SMBS, theAssembly of the Society is constituted of actual mem-bership in the current year. Society is managed by theExecutive Board whose work is controled by the Super -vising Board. Members of the newly elected ExecutiveBoard are Zorica [umarac – President of SMBS, NadaMajki}-Singh – Past President, Tatjana Vodnik – Se -cretary General, Sne`ana Jovi~i} – treasurer, SvetlanaIgnjatovi} – member, Jelena O{ap – member, andVelibor Cani} – member. Three members constitutethe Supervising Board, whose mandate is limited toonly one term during which they cannot be membersof other Committees of the SMBS. President of theSupervising Board is Emina ^olak.

Within the SMBS operate fifteen Committeeswith five to nine members. These are the Scientific

Committee (which acts also as the Committee forCongress Activities); Committee for Publishing Acti vi -ties; Committee for »Magistra Milica Markovi}« Foun -dation; Committee for Laboratory Standar diza tion;Committee for Laboratory Practice Organiza tion;Com mittee for Medical Laboratory Accredi tation;Committee for External Quality Control; Committeefor Professional Engagement of Young Biochemists;Committee for IT Activities; Committee for Co ope -ration with IFCC, EFLM, BCLF and Related NationalOrganizations; Committee for Cooperation with In -dustry; Ethical Committee; Awards Com mit tee; andCommittee for History of Medical Bio chemistry.

Center for Continuous Medical Education of theSMBS works on developing and organizing courses ofcontinuous medical education. It has the ProgramCouncil, constituted of Presidents of all the Com mit -tees of the SMBS, and the President of the Council isthe Executive Director of the SMBS.

The terms of the new officers started 1 October2012. We all hope that their work will be as success-ful as their predecessors’.


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CHAMBER OF BIOCHEMISTS – BEGINNING THE NEW AGE OF LABORATORY PRACTICE IN SERBIA

For many years, the leading organization thatdealt with the development of profession of medicalbiochemistry in Serbia has been the Society ofMedical Biochemists of Serbia (formerly Society ofMedical Biochemists of Yugoslavia). As part of thehealthcare system reforms conducted in the lastdecade, the Law of Healthcare Workers Chamberswas adopted six years ago. Medical biochemists werethe first that completely implemented the law, consti-tuted Assembly of the Chamber and five years agodelivered first licenses. Prof. dr Nada Majki}-Singhwas the first elected president of the Assembly, anddr Velibor Cani} the first elected director of theChamber.

The Chamber of Biochemists is professionalorganization of medical biochemists and clinicalchemists with the mandatory membership for col-leagues working in public healthcare institutions andprivate practice. In accordance with the Law, theChamber has a number of public authorities, includ-ing the definition of codex of professional ethics,keeping directory of all the members of the Chamber,issuing, renewing and depriving the licenses for inde-pendent practice to all of the members, representingand protecting professional interests of members,proposing the list of supervisors for external qualityaudit, organizing Court of Honor for determination ofviolation of professional duties and responsibilities ofmembers, and many others.

What are the first and obvious benefits of thework of such an organization? First of all, with the

introduction of licenses, which have to be renewedevery seven years, professional development hasachieved continuity. Medical biochemists and clinicalchemists in Serbia today are more focused to contin-uous education after graduation – in order to keeptheir license they need to collect 24 credits per yearminimum. Thanks to attendance of various courses,seminars, symposia, congresses, more colleagues arenow up-to-date with latest developments in the prac-tice of laboratory medicine, which enable them toimplement this new knowledge in their every dayworkload. Also, more educational courses are organ-ized throughout the year than before. In addition,with one of the major activities of the Chamber – theenhancement of control of the work of laboratoriesthroughout the whole territory of Republic of Serbia,quality of their work is significantly improving, whichis evident in results of our national external qualityassessment scheme (SNEQAS). Furthermore, all la -boratories, both in private and in public healthcaresystem, are encouraged and advised by the Chamberto commence the accreditation process according tostandard ISO 15189.

The Chamber of Biochemists of Serbia lasts forfive years now. Every four years delegates for theAssembly, Supervisory Board, Steering Committee,Commission for Mediation, Director and Court ofHonor are elected. In 2011 year we had relectionsand the first convening, the session of the constituentassembly, handed over its duties to new delegates.We are all confident that they will continue the fruit-ful work of their predecessors.

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J Med Biochem 32: 161–162, 2013 News from the Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia

SEMINAR ON EDUCATION OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTS TODAY

The Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbiaevery year organizes educational seminars, which aresupervised by the Chamber of Biochemists and atten-dance of which carries 6 CME credits. In April 2011,the 14th educational seminar entitled »Edu cation ofMedical Biochemists and Improvement of Work Qua -lity« was organized. The lectures were »PostgraduateQualification in Pharmacy: Tempus PQPharm ProjectGoals and Harmonization with the EU«, by prof. drJelena Paroji~i} (Faculty of Phar macy, University ofBelgrade, Serbia), »The development of Stan dar -dization Business and Integrated ManagementSystem«, by prof. dr Vidosav Majsto rovi} (Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Ser -bia), »The Needs, Rules and Process of ContinuingMedical Education« by prof. dr Svet lana Ignjatovi}(Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, andInstitute of Medical Biochemistry, Cli nical Centre ofSerbia, Serbia) and dr Velibor Cani} (Chamber ofBiochemists of Serbia, Serbia). Prof. dr Nada Majki}-Singh (Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade,and Institute of Medical Biochemistry, Clinical Centreof Serbia, Serbia) talked about »Edu cation andRecognition of Professional Qualifications in the Fieldof Medical Biochemistry of Serbia«. Next to these dis-tinguished speakers from Serbia, we were honoredand very pleased to have two lecturers from the EC4Register Commission – Dr Simone Zerah and Ms.Janet McMurray.

President of the EFCC Professional Committeeand Chair of the EC4 Register Commission, dr Si -mone Zerah, spoke about the EC4 Register forSpecialists in Laboratory Medicine. Dr Zerah dealtwith structure and perspective of the EC4 Register,the importance of choosing the right name for theprofession, aims of the Commission and relationswith the European Commission and Parliament. Wewere introduced to the foundations of the Register –EC4 Syllabus (which is in accordance with ISO/EN/15189 Standard and the European Directive on therecognition of professional qualifications) and theCode of conduct (representing the ethical values re -quired for professional behavior), as two main docu-ments. Also, we were informed about placing EC4Register on the Self-Regulation Database of the

Euro pean Economic and Social Committee’s SingleMarket Observatory (EESC/SMO), with planed acqu -iring the level of Legislation. In the end, dr Zerahemphasized that the Register enables promotion ofthe profession of specialist in laboratory medicine inthe E.U. and strengthens our influence at the Euro -pean Commission and the Parliament.

EC4 Register Commission Secretary, JanetMcMurray, elaborated about the implementation ofthe EU Directive on recognition of professional qual-ifications as applied to specialists in clinical chemistryand laboratory medicine. In her lecture, Ms. McMur -ray talked about systems for recognition of qualifica-tions and Directive 2005/36/EC of the EuropeanParliament on the recognition of professional qualifi-cations, its effects on specialists in laboratory me -dicine, common platforms, education and traininglevels, as well as training contents in European coun-tries, with the review of current status of commonplatforms and their future.

After these excellent presentations about thework of the EC4 Register Commission on commonplatforms for training and formation of EC4 registra-tion of laboratory professionals, prof. dr Nada Majki}-Singh presented the situation in education andrecognition of professional qualifications in the fieldof medical biochemistry in Serbia. In her lecture,prof. Majki}-Singh presented the educational outlineand syllabus of pharmacy-medical biochemistry atthe Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade; aswell as the professional program of specialization andacademic doctoral studies in medical biochemistry,conditions and regulations for practice and for recog-nition of foreign higher education, together withequivalence of standard of education, training andcompetence in comparison with EC4 standards.

Together with the rest of the seminar, these lec-tures gave us a pretty clear picture of the position ofspecialists in clinical chemistry and laboratory medi-cine in Europe today, current platform on trainingrequirements, but also showed us where laboratoryprofessionals in Serbia stand compared with theEuropean colleagues, and we are happy to say thatwe are not very far removed.


Lecturers on Seminar (form left to right): S. Ignjatovi}, V. Cani}, J. McMurray, N. Majki}-Singh, J. Paroj~i},S. Zerah

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7th EFCC SYMPOSIUM FOR BALKAN REGION – BIOMARKERS: FROM STANDARDIZATION TO PERFORMANCE

At the end of June 2011, the Society of Me dicalBiochemists of Serbia once again had the pleasure towelcome colleagues to the 7th IFCC Sympo sium forBalkan Region, organized traditionally under the aus-pices of the International Federation of ClinicalChemistry (IFCC) and European Fe de ration of ClinicalChemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFCC) in Bel gra -de. This year, the Symposium was dedicated to the bur -ning issue of biomarkers, entitled »Biomarkers: FromStandardization to Performance«. Like in the past sixyears, many renowned lecturers marked this meeting.

In the first section, professor Nada Majki}-Singh(Institute for Medical Biochemistry, Clinical Centre ofSerbia, Belgrade, Serbia) introduced us with biomark-ers, process of their validation and development ofguidelines for biomarker application in her lectureentitled »What is Biomarker? From Discovery to Cli -nical Application«. Professor Mauro Pantheghini’slec ture (Department of Clinical Sciences »LuigiSacco«, University of Milan, Milan, Italy) was aboutstandardization approaches and definition of per-formance requirements for heterogeneous biomarkerassays. Professor Patrick M.M. Bossuyt (Departmentof Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, AcademicMedical Center, University Amsterdam, The Nether -lands) defined biomarker performance and clinicalvalidity, expressed in terms of the marker’s accuracy,and summarized and presented the available meas-ures of diagnostic accuracy.

Second section was dedicated to the use of bio-markers in cardiovascular events and it was openedwith professor Victor Blaton’s talk (Department ofClinical Chemistry, Hospital AZ Sing-Jan AV, Brugge,Belgium) about novelties among prospective markersin this field. Professor Grazyna Sypniewska (Depart -ment of Laboratory Medicine, Collegium Medicum,Nicolaus Copernicus University, Bydgoszcz, Poland)presented results of her group’s study about perform-ance of apolipoproteins B and A by comparing apo -lipoprotein concentrations and apoB:apoA-I with tra-ditional lipid measures and atherogenic indices in asbiomarkers in acute coronary syndrome patients.Adri ana Uni} (Clinical Department of Laboratory Dia -gnostics, Dubrava University Hospital, Zagreb, Cro a -

tia) summarized the recent progress in the diagnosticuse of copeptine, C-terminal part of the arginine vaso-pressin precursor peptide found to be stable and sen-sitive marker for antidiuretic hormone re lea se, in car-diovascular diseases. This section was closed by SanjaStankovi} (Institute of Medical Bio chemistry, ClinicalCentre of Serbia, Belgrade, Ser bia) with an overviewof potential new roles for myeloperoxidase as bio-marker in cardiovascular disease.

The second day of the symposium started withprofessor Bernard Gouget (Federation HospitailiereFrance, Paris, France), who opened the third sectionwith his special lecture on biomarkers, biospecimenand European biobanking infrastructures for transla-tional research. Professor Philippe Gillery (Laboratoryof Pediatric Biology and Research – University Hos pi -tal of Reims and Laboratory of Medical Biochemistryand Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine of Reims,France) introduced us with nonenzymatic post-trans-lational modification derived products as new bio-markers of protein aging. This section was concludedwith professor Diler Aslan’s lecture (Pamukkale Uni -versity School of Medicine, Department of MedicalBiochemistry, Denizli, Turkey), where biomarkers rec-ommended for prediction or diagnosis of diabetescomplications in the clinical practice and laboratorymedicine guidelines were reviewed and results of se -veral clinical studies were summarized.

The fourth section started with the lecture abouta novel combination of biomarkers for the predictionof ovarian cancer, including human epididymis pro-tein 4 (HE4) and CA125, presented by professor De -metrios Rizos (Medical School, University of Athens,Greece). Professor Andrea Griesmacher (Central Insti -tute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics,LKH – University Hospital of Innsbruck, Austria) conti -nued with the overview of biomarkers for bone turn -over. This section was concluded with the review ofbiomarkers of fetal anomalies incorporated in first andsecond trimester screening strategies presented bypro fessor Svetlana Ignjatovi} (Institute of Medical Bio -chemistry, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Bel grade, Serbia).

The fifth and last section was, traditionally, ded-icated to experiences from Balkan region in the useand development of biomarkers. It started with thelecture of Miroslava Jankovi} (Institute for the applica-tion of Nuclear Energy – INEP, University of Belgrade,Serbia) about the status and perspective of glycansas biomarkers and about the glycome as promisingsource of new biomarkers. Afterwards, professorsMajki}-Singh, Blaton and Ignjatovi} chaired theround table discussion on presented topics.

This closed the formal part of the symposium,but it continued outside Belgrade. The two followingweekend days the participants and lecturers spent onthe road, or railway to be precise. They went on thenostalgic travel through time with the Blue Train – aspecial train used for the needs of Josip Broz Tito, life-long President of the Socialistic Federal Republic ofYugoslavia. It is one of the most famous and mostpopular trains in the whole world, built in 1959 forspecial needs of president Tito. Designed as a placethat provides accommodation, working conditionsand opportunity to complete all protocol obligationswhile traveling, this train was real residence on wheelsin the country and abroad. The destination wasMokra Gora, a mountain in the western part ofSerbia, between mountains Zlatibor and Tara. There,they have changed the commodity of the presidentialtrain with »argan eight«, another curiosity of the

Railway Museum of Serbia. From 1925 to 1974, thiswas the popular route from Belgrade to Dubrovnikand Zelenika on the Adriatic coast, where on 760mm narrow-gauge track, through tunnels, over thebridges and through mountain gorges, ran famoussteam locomotive train »]ira«. Now, one part of thisrailway is renewed on the route from station arganVitasi to Mokra Gora, which represents unique con-struction work, passes through 22 tunnels, over fivebridges, and overcomes the altitude difference of 300meters, and all that on a total distance of 15440meters. Here, the participants had an opportunity tosee all the beauty and richness of the nature of thisregion. The visit to the town of Drvengrad was unfor-gettable. Situated on the top of Me}avnik hill, Drven -grad (Wooden Town) was built by the world famousfilm director Emir Kusturica after the shooting of hisfilm »Life is a miracle« in the site of Mokra Gora.Drvengrad presents unique ethno village, typical set-tlement of this area of XIX century, consisting ofwooden buildings, such as so called cottages, charac-teristic for living on the nearby mountains.

After two days of enjoying the intact nature ofWestern Serbia and its food specialties, the caravanof biochemists arrived back to the Belgrade MainRailway Station. This definitely ended this year’sEFCC Symposium for Balkan Region, leaving all par-ticipants with valuable new knowledge of biomarkers,but also with some unforgettable memories.


7th EFCC Symposium for Balkan Region lecturers

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Symposium lecturers during trip to Mokra Gora (from left to right): Aslan Diler, Grazyna Sypniewska, Bernard Gouget, NadaMajki}-Singh, Patrick MM Bossuyt, Sanja Stankovi}, Victor Blaton


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XXVII BIOCHEMICAL DAY IN BANJA LUKA

The end of October 2011, was the time whenmedical biochemists from Serbia, traditionally, hadthe pleasure to socialize with their colleagues fromRepublic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. TheAssociation of Medical Biochemists of Republic ofSrpska and the Society of Medical Biochemists ofSerbia organized joint meeting, XXVII BiochemicalDay, on October 28th in Banja Luka, the capital ofRepublic of Srpska. There were around 100 partici-pants from Serbia, Republic of Srpska and Federationof Bosnia and Herzegovina. The topic of this year’smeeting was »Dilemmas and progress in determi -nation of some biomarkers: present state«. Afteropening remarks by the president of the Society ofMedical Biochemists of Serbia, professor Nada

Majki}-Singh, the lecturers from Institute of MedicalBiochemistry, Clinical Centre of Serbia and Faculty ofPharmacy, University of Belgrade, presented the lat-est novelties in biochemical prenatal screening stra -tegies (professor Svetlana Ignjatovi}), clinical use ofhigh-sensitivity troponin assays (ass. Sanja Stan ko -vi}), present issues in vitamin D determination (assis-tant professor Du{ko Mirkovi}) and the use of C-reac-tive protein values as a guide for statin therapy inprimary prevention of cardiovascular disease compli-cations (Sne`ana Jovi~i}). Beside this official part, thiswas the great opportunity to exchange experienceand get up-to-date with current issues in clinical lab-oratory practice between these two biochemical com-munities in neighboring countries.

From left to right: Dr Sanja Avram-[olaja (President of the Association of Medical Biochemists of Republic of Srpska), Prof. DrSvetlana Ignjatovi}, Sanja Stankovi}, Prof. Dr Nada Majki}-Singh (president of the Society of Medical Bio chemists of Serbia)and Dr Velibor Cani} (president of Chamber of Biochemists of Serbia).

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THE XIV ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE »PROFESSOR IVAN BERKE[«

The 2011 Annual Scientific Conference »Pro -fes sor Ivan Berke{« was held on December 1st atMilitary Medical Academy in Belgrade. As it is cus-tomary, the lecturers were clinical laboratory profes-sionals who have defended their doctoral thesis in thecourse of the past year at the Faculty of Pharmacyand Faculty of Medicine. This year, they were: DrJanko Pejovi} (Military Medical Academy, Belgrade),Dr Marijana Dajak (Faculty of Pharmacy, University ofBelgrade), Dr Jasenka Lalo{-Milju{ (Faculty of Me -dicine, University of Banja Luka) and Dr Jelena Pop -ovi} (Faculty of Medicine, University of Ni{).

This Annual Scientific Conference and Fund»Professor Ivan Berke{« was established to honor life

and work of professor Ivan Berke{, one of the foun dersof medical biochemistry in former Yugo slavia. Hetaught medical biochemistry at Universities in Zagreb,Skopje and Belgrade. His work at the Faculty ofPharmacy of the University of Belgrade was in greatpart directed towards the definition and foundation ofthe specialist studies program. Also, professor Berke{introduced Clinical Enzymology as an independentdiscipline. With over 200 publications, mentoring of150 specialists in medical biochemistry and severaltens of doctoral candidates, professor Berke{ left anindelible mark in clinical laboratory profession inSerbia. After his death in 1997, the Society of MedicalBiochemists of Yugoslavia and the Faculty ofPharmacy of the University of Belgrade founded the

Awarded students with the Dean and Professors of Faculty of Pharmacy (from left to right): Milena An|elkovi}, Professor NadaMajki}-Singh, Professor Nada Kova~evi}, Sanela \or|evi}, Ana Milojevi}, Professor Svetlana Ignjatovi}


Scientific Fund and Annual Scientific Conferencenamed after him, as a sign of appreciation and respectfor this remarkable teacher and eminent expert.

Awards from the Scientific Fund »Professor IvanBerke{« are given yearly to the two best graduatestudents from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Uni -versity of Belgrade, one graduate in pharmacy, andthe other in medical biochemistry. However 2011called for a special event as the first students gradu-ated according to the new syllabus harmonized withthe Bologna declaration. Hence, this year the Fundgave four diplomas and monetary awards; two to stu-dents graduated according to previous school system– Mladen Milovi} (pharmacy graduate) and Milena

An|elkovi} (pharmacy-medical biochemistry gradu-ate), and two to »Bologna graduates« – Sanela \or -|evi} (Master of Pharmacy) and Ana Milojevi}(Master of Pharmacy-medical biochemistry).

After the traditional welcoming address of colo -nel Professor Marijan Novakovi}, Head of MilitaryMedical Academy, and of Professor Nada Kova evi},Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy and Chair of the event,Professor Majki}-Singh, presented awards.

With this successful conference, we remem-bered once again, the legacy of professor Ivan Ber -ke{, whose students represent the core of science ofmedical biochemistry and clinical laboratory practicein Serbia today.

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TWIN STUDENT EXCANGE BETWEEN SERBIA AND CROATIA

The European Pharmacy Student Association(EPSA), among other activities, organizes TWIN proj-ects that are probably one of the most attractive.TWIN represents bilateral student exchange for phar-macy students from different European countries.This means that 15–20 students from one countryvisit their colleagues from abroad, who afterwardsreturn the visit. The average duration of TWIN is fiveto seven days. Recently, one TWIN project has in -cluded medical biochemistry students from BelgradeUniversity School of Pharmacy, Serbia, and ZagrebUniversity School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry,Cro atia. Considering that training in clinical chem-istry and laboratory medicine in most Europeancountries begins after graduation, this was a rare

opportunity for students from two countries with atradition of laboratory medicine education startingfrom the first year of undergraduate studies, to shareexperience and to connect.

This particular TWIN project started in October2011 with the visit of Serbian students to theirCroatian colleagues, who have returned their visit inthe end of February this year. Each year EPSA estab-lishes one universal topic for all TWIN projects that iselaborated through lectures, workshops and discus-sions. This time it was »Antimicrobial resistance«. Be -sides interesting lectures on this topic both in Zagreband Belgrade, students were introduced to the workof both national societies for medical biochemistry.

Students from Zagreb and Belgrade at the excursion in Varazdin, Croatia.


Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia was thepatron of the Belgrade meeting, so besides lectureson the role of PCR in diagnostics of antimicrobialresistance, the role of sepsis biomarkers in antimicro-bial therapy selection and the follow-up of antimicro-bial drug concentration in body fluids, Prof. Dr NadaMajki}-Singh President of the Society of Medical Bio -chemists in Serbia presented to our young Croatiancolleagues and guests the history of the SerbianSociety and of laboratory medicine practice in Serbia.They also visited the Departments for Policlinic andEmergency Laboratory Diagnostics of the Institute ofMedical Biochemistry in the Clinical Centre of Serbia.One of the lecturers was Andjelo Beleti}, acting liai-son for the TWIN project and responsible for the col-laboration of the Society of Medical Biochemists ofSerbia with the IFCC Task Force for Young Scientists(IFCC TF-YS) and a Full Member of the YoungScientist of the EFCC Working Group on Congressesand Post-Graduate Education (EFCC WG-CPE). Mr.Beleti} emphasized that through lectures and discus-

sions addressing professional development and edu-cation, as well as positions in health care systems,specific experiences and ideas for improving currentstate had been ex chan ged. The overall impressionwas that our young colleagues recognized the speci -fic advances of their education, integrating variousbiomedical, pharmaco logical and clinical disciplines,in management of antimicrobial resistance. He con-cluded that the success of this particular TWIN pro jectstrongly suggests that similar meetings be orga nizedmore often and incorporated into regular acti vities ofthe corresponding IFCC and EFCC working groups.

Beside the educational activities, the TWINprojects play also a social role and represent a greatopportunity to meet new people, learn on their cul-tures and customs. Young medical biochemists fromboth Croatia and Serbia were excellent hosts to eachother, presenting traditional food specialties, music,and a good time and adventures of nightlife. Thisunique experience assured new friendships for life.

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BCLF 2012 BELGRADE MEETINGS OF LABORATORY MEDICINE PROFESSIONALS

This September 2012, Belgrade was the centerof gathering of clinical laboratory professionals ofBalkan region, when between 18th and 22nd threeimportant events took place – 20th Meeting of theBalkan Cli nical Laboratory Federation (BCLF), 8th

EFLM Sym po sium for Balkan Region and 18th

Congress of Medical Biochemists of Serbia. Thesehappenings were orga nized by the Society of MedicalBiochemists of Serbia and the Institute of MedicalBiochemistry Clinical Center of Serbia, under the aus-pices of IFCC and EFLM, as well as the Ministry ofHealth and the Mi nistry of Education and Science ofRepublic of Serbia.

20th BCLF Meeting was opened with welcom-ing addresses made by prof. Nada Majki}-Singh(Meeting President), prof. Ian Watson (EFLMPresident), prof. Etleva Refetlari (on behalf of prof.Anyla Bulo-Kasneci, BCLF President) and prof.Vladimir \uki} (on behalf of Ministry of Health ofRepublic of Serbia), who greeted about 500 partici-pants from Balkan countries. Also, at the openingceremony and regarding the 20th anniversary ofestablishment and work of the BCLF, Society ofMedical Biochemistry of Serbia honored professorStojan Danev from Bulgaria, the founder of BCLF,with the highest award of the Society.

The opening ceremony of the 18th Congress ofMedical Biochemists of Serbia was marked with theintroduction of the newly established Fund »MagistraMilica Markovi}«. This was the way to honor the lifeand work of Milica Markovi}, dedicated to theimprovement of laboratory practice in the days of thefoundation of the Institute of Medical Biochemistry ofthe Clinical Center of Serbia in 1980’s and 1990’s.Thanks to her engagement, the Institute establishedmodern organization of laboratory work technology,which was later certified according to ISO qualitymanagement system. The first two rewards from theFund »Magistra Milica Markovi}« were awarded toMilka Golubovi} and Gordana Kartaljevi} for theircontribution to the improvement of technologicaland organizational principles of work in clinical labo-ratories in the Republic of Serbia.

The beginning of the 18th Congress of MedicalBiochemists of Serbia was marked with two outstand-ing sessions. The first was dedicated to biological andclinical significance of nitric oxide and L-argininemetabolism intermediates. Pathophysiological impor-tance of nitric oxide in coronary heart disease, thenitrosative stress in neuropathology and the role ofdimethylarginines in renal disease progression werepresented by the research group from the Institute ofMedical Biochemistry of the Ni{ Clinical Center,under the supervision of prof. Vidosava Djordjevi}.Symposium in clinical immunology followed, whichwas focused on the importance of immunoserologi-cal parameters in differential diagnosis in relation toidiopathic systemic vasculitis, clinical and laboratorycharacteristics of cryoglobulinemina, and clinical andlaboratory diagnosis of hereditary angioedema.Speakers, led by prof. Branka Bona~i-Nikoli}, pre-sented experiences derived from their long-lastingwork at the Clinic for Allergy and Immunology of theClinical Center of Serbia.

Within the 18th Congress of Medical Bio che -mists of Serbia annual EFLM Symposium for BalkanRegion was held. This year’s topic was vitamin Ddeficiency as a new challenge for laboratory medi-cine. After the introduction in biochemistry andmetabolism of vitamin D (made by Sne`ana Jovi~i}from Center for Medical Biochemistry, Clinical Centerof Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia), the distinguished expertsin this field presented current knowledge on chal-lenges in diagnosis and monitoring hypovitaminosisD (prof. Michael Vogesser, University Hospital,Munich, Germany), the role of vitamin D in osteo-porosis (prof. Vera Popovi}, University School ofMedicine and Department of Neuroendocrinology,Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia), in theprevention of renal and cardiovascular disease (prof.Dra{ko Pavlovi}, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hos -pital, Zagreb, Croatia), in multisystem sarcoidosis(prof. Violeta Mihailovi}-Vu~ini}, Clinic of Pulmology,Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia), as well asits biological effects in elderly population (prof.Roxana Oprisiu-Fournier, Internal Medicine andGeriatric Department, University Hospital, Amiens,


France) and contribution of diet to vitamin D status(prof. Maja Nikoli}, University School of Medicine,Ni{, Serbia). Challenges in vitamin D measurement,standardization, analytical methods and performanceof immunoassays and mass spectrometry were elabo-rated by prof. Heinz Juergen (Pablo) Roth (LimbachLaboratory, Heidelberg, Germany), prof. MustafaSerteser (Acibadem University School of Medicine,Istanbul, Turkey) and prof. Nikolina Babi} (PritzkerSchool of Medicine, University of Chicago, IL, USA).Traditionally for these EFLM meetings, experiencesfrom Balkan countries in vitamin D determination(exposed by Sne`ana Jovi~i} from Serbia, prof.Demetrios Rizos from Greece and prof. Aylin SepiciDinçel from Turkey) closed this years symposThe ple-nary lecture of the 8th EFLM Symposium for BalkanRegion was also the opening lecture of the 20th BCLFMeeting. We had the pleasure and honor to hear theamazing lecture by the doyen and legend of vitaminD research, prof. Michael Holick. Professor Holickpresented vitamin D as a »D-lightful« solution forgood health in his unique manner, which most of us,fortunate to hear it, will never forget.

Topics of this year’s BCLF Meeting could havebeen classified into four groups. The first part wasdedicated to preanalytics as the way for improvingpatient safety, through the elaboration of influence ofpre-analytical errors (prof. Mario Plebani, UniversityHospital Padova, Italy), patient identification errors(prof. Vladimir Pali~ka, Charles University, HradecKrálové, Czech Republic), detection and manage-ment of hemolyzed samples (prof. Ana-Maria [imun-di}, University Hospital Center Sestre Milosrdnice,Zagreb, Croatia) and pre-analytical phase in relationto hemostasis (prof. Steve Kitchen, SheffieldHaemophilia and Thrombosis Centre, UK). This wasclosed with experiences in preanalytics from Balkanregion countries – Serbia (dr Zorica [umarac), Turkey(prof. Mustafa Serteser) and Romania (prof. SimonaBerbecar).

On education and training of specialists in la -boratory medicine, the burning topic in European la -boratory medicine professional circles, through thesignificance of patient safety laboratory medicine,har monization of European education in laboratorymedicine and recognition of professional qualifica-tions, as well as the continuous professional develop-ment crediting system in EFLM societies, spoke themost distinguished guests from the EFLM – prof. Ian

D. Watson, president; prof. Victor Blaton, founder andpast president; and prof. Elizabeta Topi}, from theEFLM Committee for Education and Training.

The third part was dedicated to experiences withnew biochemical markers in myocardial infarction,malignancies, bone mineralization diseases, geneticdisorders, prenatal screening, and autoimmune dis-eases, exposed by laboratory professionals fromBalkan countries (exposed by S. Stankovi}, E. ^olakand R. Obrenovi} from Serbia; V. Anastasovska fromMacedonia; R. Dumache and C. Grigore fromRomania; N. Ulusu, O. Goruroglu Ozturk and A.Sepici Dinçel from Turkey; D. Rizos and C. Kroupisfrom Greece; A. Daka and E. Refetlari from Albania).

The session on standardization in laboratorymedicine closed this years BCLF Meeting. The issuesin analytical standardization and harmonization (drMuhittin Serdar, Turkey), innovation and strategies inpoint-of-care testing (prof. Bernard Gouget, France),turnaround time in the emergency biochemical labo-ratories (dr Mirka Ili}, Serbia), effects of new oral anti-coagulants on laboratory tests in haemostasis (drSteve Kitchen, UK) and current practices and futureperspectives in urinanalysis (prof. Milko Shishenkov,Bulgaria) were elaborated.

Plenary lecture on clinical pharmacogenomicsand the concept of personalized medicine by prof.Nikolina Babi} from the Department of Pathology,University of Chicago, drew great attention, since theadoption of pharmacogenomics into routine practiceis not common, but genetic testing is becoming in -creasingly patient driven through direct-to-consumertesting.

This year’s BCLF Belgrade Meetings had 133poster presentations by participants from all theBalkan countries (Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey,Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herze go -vina, Montenegro), but also from Argentina, Iran,Sweden, France, Netherlands and Italy. The awardsfor best posters went to Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia andHerzegovina, respectively.

This was the third time that the Society ofMedical Biochemists of Serbia successfully organizedBCLF Meeting, and the second time that it was heldin Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. According to reac-tions and feedback from both participants and invitedspeakers, we have fulfilled their expectations andeven overcame them.

J Med Biochem 2013; 32 (2) 173

Michael F. Holick presenting Opening lecture during the20th BCLF Belgrade Meetings

Lecturers on 8th EFLM Symposium for Balkan Region (from left to right): S. Ignjatovi}, E. Topi}, N. Majki}-Singh, M. Vogeser,M. Fournier

Ian Watson, EFLM President during welcome address toparticipants of 20th BCLF Belgrade Meetings


UDK 577.1 : 61 ISSN 1452-8258


SOCIETY OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTS OF SERBIATHE FIFTEENTH ANNUAL IVAN BERKE[ CONFERENCE

Annual Scientific Conference and Fund »Pro -fessor Ivan Berke{« were established to honor life andwork of professor Ivan Berke{, one of the foundersof medical biochemistry in former Yugoslavia. Hetaught medical biochemistry at Universities inZagreb, Skopje and Belgrade. Upon his arrival inBelgrade, in 1960s, he directed his work towards thedefinition and foundation of the specialist studiesprogram at the University School of Pharmacy. Withmentoring more than 150 specialists in medical bio-chemistry and several tenths of doctoral candidates,professor Berke{ left an indelible mark in clinical lab-oratory profession in Serbia. Also, professor Berke{introduced Clinical Enzimology as an independentdiscipline. He published over 200 scientific papers innational and international journals, and wrote se -veral books, among which »General and MedicalEnzymology« stands out. After his death in 1997,Society of Medical Biochemists of Yugoslavia andSchool of Pharmacy of the University of Belgradefounded Scientific Fund and Annual ScientificConference named after him, as a sign of apprecia-tion and respect for this remarkable teacher and emi-nent expert. Scientific Fund »Professor Ivan Berke{«awards each year two best graduate students fromthe School of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, oneMaster of Pharmacy and one Master of Pharmacy-Medical Biochemist.

The 2012 Annual Scientific Conference »Pro -fessor Ivan Berke{« was held on December 4th at theMilitary Medical Academy in Belgrade. After the tra-ditional welcoming address of prof. dr Nada Maj ki}-Singh, who chairs this Meeting together with prof.dr Svetlana Ignjatovi} and dr Janko Pejovi}, duringwhich we were reminded of the life and work of pro-fessor Berke{, welcoming addresses of colonel prof.

dr Marijan Novakovi}, Head of Military Medical Aca -demy, and prof. dr Zorica Vuji}, Dean of UniversitySchool of Pharmacy, followed. This year’s awards tothe best students were presented by prof. dr NadaMajki}-Singh and dr Zorica {umarac, the President ofthe Society of Medical Biochemists of Serbia. Re ci -pients were Marija Todosijevi}, Master of Pharmacy,and Mladen Stankov, Master of Pharmacy-MedicalBiochemist.

During the scientific part of the program, tradi-tionaly, this year’s defended doctoral thesis in me -dical biochemistry at School of Pharmacy and Schoolof Medicine of Universities of Belgrade and Ni{ werepresented. The openning lecture entitled »Enzymes:small machines in our life« was presented by prof. drN. Nuray Ulusu from Ankara, Turkey. The four doc-torates were presented by dr Zorica [umarac (Schoolof Pharmacy, University of Belgrade), dr RadmilaObrenovi} (School of Pharmacy, University of Bel -grade), dr Sanja Stankovi} (School of Pharmacy, Uni -versity of Belgrade) and dr Zorica Dimitrijevi} (Schoolof Medicine, University of Ni{), while dr Emina ^olak(School of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade) pre -sented her subspecialist thesis. The conference wasclo sed with the promotion of the book »ClinicalEn zymology« by prof. dr Nada Majki}-Singh. Prof.dr Vidosava \or|evi} (School of Medicine, Universityof Ni{), prof. dr Svetlana Ignjatovi} (School of Phar -macy, University of Belgrade) and the author talkedabout the book.

With another successful conference, we re mem - bered once again, the legacy of professor Ivan Berke{,whose students represent the core of science of me -dical biochemistry and clinical laboratory practice inSerbia today.

J Med Biochem 2013; 32 (2) 175

Awarded best students from Faculty of Pharmacy with members of the Scientific Foundation »Ivan Berke{«. From left to right:Z. [umarac, S. Ignjatovi}, N. Majki}-Singh, M. Stankov, M. Todosijevi}

news from the society of medical biochemists of serbia · 12 april 2012 appointed new officers for...

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