Nikola Topolovčan
Nikola Topolovčan embarked on his academic journey at the University of Zagreb, where he obtained his graduate degree in 2013. That same year, he commenced his doctoral studies at Charles University in Prague, guided by the mentorship of Professor Martin Kotora. Following his doctoral work, he took on a postdoctoral fellowship at Brock University, collaborating with Professor Tomáš Hudlický. In 2020, Nikola transitioned to the Ruđer Bošković Institute, where he became part of Matija Gredičak’s research group. By 2024, he had progressed to establish his independent research career at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. He focuses his research on exciting areas of organometallic chemistry, the innovative design of ligands and catalysts, and exploring non-covalent interactions to enhance organic synthesis.
Group Members
Ivana Nikšić-Franjić
Postdoctoral Researcher
Ivana received her graduate degree in chemistry from the University of Zagreb in 2015. She completed her PhD in computational chemistry at Ruđer Bošković Institute in 2020 and spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2023 she went to Constructor University in Bremen as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Werner Nau. In 2024, she came back to RBI and started working as postdoctoral researcher in Topolovčan group.
Narendra Bisht
Postdoctoral Researcher
Narendra received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Mohali, India in 2020. In the same year, he started his career as a research scientist in the industry and quickly rose to the position of team leader. He worked for more than four years in industry before joining Nikola’s group as a postdoctoral fellow. Apart from chemistry, he loves to play cricket, badminton and running.
Sanja Stojak
Project Administrator
Sanja received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Osijek in 2015 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Law Society of Ireland in 2022. Before her career at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, she gained her knowledge in the field of EU funds at the Bjelovar-Bilogora County and legal project management skills at the two law firms in Dublin
Marko Gobin
PhD Student
Originally from Zadar, Croatia, Marko left the seaside and moved to foggy Zagreb in 2017. He obtained his master’s degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, in 2023. Marko joined the group in April 2024 as a PhD candidate focusing on organometallic catalysis. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with friends, traveling, observing ZET trams, and playing simulator video games.
Marko Purić
PhD Student
Marko completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Faculty of Science, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, in 2024. He conducted his master’s thesis on the development of a method for the preparation of chiral multisubstituted cyclopentadienyl ligands in the Laboratory for Biomimetic Chemistry under the supervision of N. Topolovčan. In his current work, Marko is focused on the synthesis of chiral multisubstituted BINOL-cyclopentadienyl ligands and their application in asymmetric transformations. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time outdoors, trying new food, and cooking.
Filip Duplić
PhD Student
Filip graduated from the Faculty of Science at the University of Zagreb in 2022. He worked in the industry as a medicinal chemist before joining the group in June 2024. His research includes the design of chiral cyclopentadienyl ligands. When not in the lab, Filip enjoys playing soccer and padel.
Lovro Vučetić
Graduate Student
Lovro is currently a graduate student at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. In March 2024, he started working on his thesis, which deals with regio- and chemoselective alkylation of phenols under the mentorship of Nikola Topolovčan. In his free time, he enjoys cycling and going out.
Josip Lukač
Graduate Student
I completed my university undergraduate study programme in chemistry in 2024 in Osijek, with the thesis of an AI use and impact in organic synthesis. Then I moved to the Zagreb to finish my master degree because of the bigger opportunities to thrive in chemistry at the centre of Croatia. Here I’ve gotten familiar and swept away by the computational chemistry, where with the Ruđer team of Topolovčan group I plan to absorb knowledge and get better with the team help, advices and guidance.
Luka Sabolović
Graduate Student
Luka is a graduate student at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb. He is a member of the science popularization group “PO Entropija.” He is currently working on his thesis under the mentorship of Nikola Topolovčan, focusing on chiral photosensitive organocatalysts. Outside of chemistry, he enjoys playing football and participating in pub quizzes.
Past Members
Katarina Ćaćić
Graduate Student
PhD candidate at Charles University in Martin Kotora’s group