Navigating the Complexities of SARS-CoV-2 Immunobiology: The Science Behind the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prof. Vladimir N. Uversky, PhD, DSc, FRSB, FRSC, F.A.I.M.B.E., Professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida (USF), is a pioneer in the field of protein intrinsic disorder. He has made a number of groundbreaking contributions in the field of protein folding, misfolding, and intrinsic disorder. He obtained his academic degrees from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Ph.D., in 1991) and from the Institute of Experimental and Theoretical Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences (D.Sc., in 1998). He spent his early career working mostly on protein folding at the Institute of Protein Research and the Institute for Biological Instrumentation (Russia). In 1998, moved to the University of California Santa Cruz. In 2004, joined the Indiana University−Purdue University Indianapolis as a Senior Research Professor. Since 2010, Professor Uversky is with USF, where he works on various aspects of protein intrinsic disorder phenomenon and on analysis of protein folding and misfolding processes. Prof. Uversky has authored over 1250 scientific publications and edited several books and book series on protein structure, function, folding, misfolding, and intrinsic disorder. He is also serving as an editor in a number of scientific journals. He was a co-founder of the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Subgroup at the Biophysical Society and the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Gordon Research Conference. Prof. Uversky collaborated with more than 12,500 colleagues from more than 2,750 research organizations in 89 countries/territories.

Prof. Dr. Altijana Hromić-Jahjefendić, PhD, Professor at the Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, International University of Sarajevo. She obtained her academic degrees from University of Graz, Austria (PhD degree in 2017 in protein biochemistry) and from Graz University of Technology, Austria (MSc degree in 2013 in protein biochemistry). After obtaining her PhD degree, she returned to her home country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and started to work at International University of Sarajevo on lymphoma research. As a young researcher, she started collaboration with international colleagues authoring many scientific publications in cancer research and COVID-19.