Scientific & Medical Expertise: Rare disease and signaling pathway specialist with 7+ years of research experience and a PhD in Medical Genetics. Adept at analysis, problem-solving, literature review and data presentation. Quick to adapt to changing priorities to drive research outcomes and meet publication deadlines.
Project Management: Independently managed research projects spanning 1-5 years, with three publications and a fourth in submission. Led cross-functional collaboration between clinicians, key opinion leaders (KOLs) in Medical Genetics and academic researchers to address gaps in patient care, specifically in prenatal diagnostics.
Stakeholder Engagement: Proactively established strategic partnerships with project stakeholders to improve local campus engagement and secure sponsorships (2500 CHF) for scientific networking events.
Presentation & Communication: Published three educational articles distilling complex biomedical topics for general audiences. Confident in presenting to HCPs, KOLs and industry experts at conferences (ESHG, 2025; ASHG, 2023) and congresses (SSMG, 2025). Working proficiency in German (B2) and actively achieving C1 certification.
Education: Assisted in the scientific development of healthcare professionals (HCPs) through interdepartmental research meetings. Onboarded and mentored two research assistants to develop independent research skills. More than 150 hours of undergraduate teaching experience in Python coding and molecular biology.
Proactive learner: Gained an understanding of pharmaceutical lifecycles, ethical guidelines, clinical trial structures and compliance through Good Clinical Practices (GCP) certification by the University Hospital Zurich. Completed Salesforce training to pair understanding of research requirements with digitally managing clients and opportunities.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Dec 2024 - Current
Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich – Zurich, Switzerland
As one of Switzerland’s leading in vitro genetic testing facilities, the Institute of Medical Genetics provides prenatal, postnatal and adult genetic counseling services in a multidisciplinary environment.
Led multiple cross-functional subprojects to generate evidence for rare disease research and clinical decision-making, concluding in a first-author publication (in submission).
Expertise in mammalian cell culture, DNA, RNA, and protein techniques requiring in-depth knowledge and organization of laboratory reagents and equipment.
Managed strict project timelines, budgets and resources to reach end-of-2025 submission goals.
Synthesized complex molecular biology data for the scientific training of 20+ HCPs and KOLs during monthly interdepartmental meetings and journal clubs.
Communicated project outcomes, issue mitigation, and project risks to senior leadership.
Reviewed patient consent forms for the use of prenatal material in research projects.
Elected Council Representative, Schlieren Campus Council, Jul 2022 – Jul 2024
University of Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland
The council was founded to address the untapped potential of the University of Zurich’s biotech campus.
Secured 2500 CHF across four PhD departments to fund a networking event with 60+ attendees.
Established scientific networking initiatives, semesterly career development workshops, and weekly sports programs to strengthen community engagement.
Created an engagement strategy between five university and local stakeholders to ensure long-term program sustainability, continuing into 2025.
Editor & Freelance Science Writer, Feb 2023 – Dec 2024
Facts&Reasons (website) – Zurich, Switzerland
An online science communications website that tackles myths about common scientific topics.
Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3
Executed 3 concise educational articles demystifying scientific concepts for general audiences based on extensive literature synthesis of peer-reviewed evidence.
Edited junior author submissions to ensure clarity, scientific accuracy and adherence to brand standards, demonstrating attention to detail and a quality-focused mindset.
Research Assistant, Nov 2019 – Jul 2020
Max Planck for Neurobiology of Behavior (caesar) – Bonn, Germany
The Scholz lab studies how animals use information to make behavioral decisions using C. elegans as a model organism.
Rapidly acquired knowledge in new scientific areas to support publication goals and conduct an independent project tracking C. elegans feeding behavior.
Published a first-author review on invertebrate neurobiology (Zjacic & Scholz, 2022).
PhD in Medical Genetics, Oct 2020 – Nov 2024
Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich – Zurich, Switzerland
Executed a multi-level, 4-year research project in collaboration with HCPs, KOLs and academic researchers to identified gaps in patient needs and improve diagnostic testing tools.
Developed the technical skillsets of two research assistants through structured experiments, maximizing research output and ensuring on-time execution of project milestones.
Problem-solved experimental issues and remained adaptable to new research technology.
Designed custom pipelines for data analysis using self-taught Python coding and Excel.
Mentored undergraduate students in molecular biology techniques and Python coding for data analysis, accumulating 150+ hours of educational experience.
MSc in Human and Molecular Genetics, Sept 2018 – Sept 2019
University of Sheffield - Sheffield, UK – Graduated with Distinction
Conducted an independent research project in collaboration with the Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital on diagnosing rare peroxisomal disorders using yeast as a model organism.
Built a foundation in human genetics through courses on Next Generation Sequencing, NHS healthcare systems and genetic counseling tasks including pedigree charts and genetic disease diagnostics.
BSc in Animal and Plant Sciences, Sept 2015 – Jul 2018
University of Sheffield - Sheffield, UK – Graduated with First Class Honours
Dissertation work led to a peer-reviewed publication (Johannsen et al., 2021).
Study abroad year was conducted at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Salesforce Essential Training, Dec 2025
LinkedIn Learning
Completed comprehensive training on Salesforce features, navigation, and search functions.
Familiar with creating contacts, accounts, custom list views, reports, and opportunity management.
Followed course content using a developer trial account to consolidate learning.
Good Clinical Practices (GCP) for Investigators (Modules 1 & 2), Nov 2024
University Hospital Zurich - Zurich, Switzerland
Gained an overview of pharmaceutical product lifecycles and GCP (ICH E6(R2)) compliance.
ISO 14155:2020 & ISO 20916:2019 (Clinical investigation of medical devices).
Familiar with clinical development from conception to finalization, human research study conduct (e.g. monitoring), regulatory documentation, data management and the role of different actors in clinical trials.
Member, Medical Affairs Professional Society (Switzerland and Nordic Chapters), Jun 2024 – Jun 2025
Zjacic, N., et al. (in submission). The utility of chorionic villus sample cells for functionally assessing Noonan syndrome variants.
Zjacic, N. & Scholz, M. (2022). The role of food odor in invertebrate foraging. Genes, Brain & Behavior. doi:10.1111/gbb.12793
Bonnard, E., Zjacic, N. et al. (2022). Tracking feeding behavior in C. elegans. eLife. doi:10.7554/eLife.77252
Johannsen, E.B. et al. (2021). The Genetics of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Genes. doi:10.3390/genes12020216
Poster, European Society of Human Genetics (2025), Milan, Italy (7,000+ attendees) — clinical case/abstract on rare disease prenatal screening presented on behalf of a clinician on maternity leave; responded to clinical queries and requests for collaboration.
Attendee, Swiss Society of Medical Genetics (2025) Annual Meeting, Zurich – congress on the state of next generation sequencing research and genetic disease research.
Poster, American Society of Human Genetics (2023), Washington D.C., USA (9,000+ attendees) — presented original research on rare disease mechanisms; networked with KOLs, industry specialists and academics.
Mammalian cell culture: extensive experience culturing both standard cell lines (HEK293, BJ-5ta and RPE-1) and patient material (chorionic villus sampling cells and amniocentesis cells), basic iPSC cell culture experience, cell maintenance (splitting, replacing culture medium, cryopreservation), extraction protocols (DNA, RNA and protein), CRISPR-Cas9 editing (nucleofection, colony selection, genetic sequencing)
Genetic sequencing: amplification of genetic material for sequencing via PCR (genomic DNA and plasmids), sequencing product purification, BigDye Terminator sequencing protocol, Sanger sequencing, Illumina sequencing and genetic analysis, other genetic analysis software (Chromas and Benchling)
Molecular biology techniques: PCR, RT-qPCR, transcriptomics, Western blot, ELISA, in vitro functional assays (e.g. phosphatase assays), gel electrophoresis, plasmid purification, FACS, immunostaining, microscopy, bacterial transformation
Research Tools: GraphPad Prism, ImageJ/FIJI, biostatistics
Programming: Python (Advanced), R (Beginner)
Design Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Designer, Biorender
Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, EndNote
Project Management: Trello
Customer Databases: Salesforce
English (native)
German (B2)
Croatian (B2)
Spanish (B1)