Alica Pizent

• 2000 Ph.D. in biomedicine and health sciences at Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. Thesis: Toxicokinetic interactions of lead, cadmium, calcium, copper, and zinc in humans (Supervisor: S. Telišman)
• 1993 M.Sc. in natural sciences at Postgraduate study in Chemistry (Analytical Chemistry), University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
• 1989 B.Sc. in chemistry at Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

• 1989 – ongoing
  Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb

Since beginning of her scientific career, Dr Alica Pizent has been continuously engaged in the interdisciplinary research focused on exposure to and health effects of environmental and lifestyle stressors.

• Human biological monitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to chemicals, their interactions and health effects (reproductive health and development, atopy and ventilatory lung function, oxidative stress, metabolic syndrome, testicular and prostate cancer)
• Influence of age, sex, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and stress on chemical exposure and toxicity
• Evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of the organism due to exposure to chemicals
• Metabolomics: development, identification and application for new biological markers of various health disorders, toxicometabolomics

• 2020-2023 Webinars and virtual seminars in exposomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenetics, risk assessment
• 2022 “1^st Workshop on Mass Spectrometry in Life Sciences”, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• 2016 “Basics of Proteomics”, seminar and workshop, Biocentre Zagreb, Croatia
• 2016 “Mass spectrometry in modern laboratories” QQQ – What, how, why?”, seminar and workshop, AlphaChrom and Biocentre, Zagreb, Croatia
• 2014 “Workshop – Advanced School of Mass Spectrometry”, Belgrade, Serbia
• 1999 Department of International Affairs and Environmental Sciences of the National Institute for Minamata Disease, Minamata, Japan
• 1998 Department of Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Global Environment Centre Foundation; scholarship from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Osaka, Japan
• 1996 EUROTOX, “Modern Trends and Principles of Chemical Safety”, Szeged, Hungary
• 1995 EUROTOX, “Principles of Risk Assessment from Chemical Exposure”, Łódź, Poland
• 1994 Risk Assessment (The Fifth Risk Assessment Summer School), Manor of Groves, U.K.

• 2007, 2018, 2019 Annual award of the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health for the publication with the highest number of citations (Telišman et al., Environ Hlth Perspect 2000;108(1):45-53; Pizent et al., Arhiv Hig Rada Toksikol 2012;63(Suppl 1):35-46).
• 2005 Award for the best graduate thesis in area of water management given by “Hrvatske vode”: “Determination of copper in drinking water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry”. S. Butković, graduation thesis, 2005, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb; supervisor: A. Pizent

1. Tariba Lovaković B, Živković Semren T, Safner T, Gamulin M, Soče M, Pizent A. Is low-level metal exposure related to testicular cancer? J Environ Sci Health C Toxicol Carcinog. 2021;39(1):87-107. doi: 10.1080/26896583.2021.1874234.
2. Wallace DR, Taalab YM, Heinze S, Tariba Lovaković B, Pizent A, Renieri E, Tsatsakis A, Farooqi AA, Javorac D, Andjelkovic M, Bulat Z, Antonijević B, Buha Djordjevic A. Toxic-Metal-Induced Alteration in miRNA Expression Profile as a Proposed Mechanism for Disease Development. Cells. 2020 Apr 7;9(4):901. doi: 10.3390/cells9040901.
3. Živković Semren T, Brčić Karačonji I, Safner T, Brajenović N, Tariba Lovaković B, Pizent A. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of urinary volatile organic metabolites: Optimization of the HS-SPME procedure and sample storage conditions. Talanta. 2018 Jan 1;176:537-543. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.08.064.
4. Pizent A, Tariba B, Živković T. Reproductive toxicity of metals in men. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2012;63 Suppl 1:35-46. doi: 10.2478/10004-1254-63-2012-2151.
5. Pizent A, Pavlovic M, Jurasovic J, Dodig S, Pasalic D, Mujagic R. Antioxidants, trace elements and metabolic syndrome in elderly subjects. J Nutr Health Aging. 2010 Dec;14(10):866-71. doi: 10.1007/s12603-010-0139-1.
6. Pizent A, Macan J, Jurasović J, Varnai VM, Milković-Kraus S, Kanceljak-Macan B. Association of toxic and essential metals with atopy markers and ventilatory lung function in women and men. Sci Total Environ. 2008 Feb 15;390(2-3):369-76. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.10.049.
7. Telisman S, Colak B, Pizent A, Jurasović J, Cvitković P. Reproductive toxicity of low-level lead exposure in men. Environ Res. 2007 Oct;105(2):256-66. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2007.05.011.
8. Pizent A, Jurasović J, Telisman S. Serum calcium, zinc, and copper in relation to biomarkers of lead and cadmium in men. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2003;17(3):199-205. doi: 10.1016/S0946-672X(03)80026-3.
9. Telisman S, Jurasović J, Pizent A, Cvitković P. Blood pressure in relation to biomarkers of lead, cadmium, copper, zinc, and selenium in men without occupational exposure to metals. Environ Res. 2001 Oct;87(2):57-68. doi: 10.1006/enrs.2001.4292.
10. Telisman S, Cvitković P, Jurasović J, Pizent A, Gavella M, Rocić B. Semen quality and reproductive endocrine function in relation to biomarkers of lead, cadmium, zinc, and copper in men. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 Jan;108(1):45-53. doi: 10.1289/ehp.0010845.

• Croatian Society of Toxicology
• Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Croatian Association for Cancer Research
• The European Association for Cancer Research

• Supervision of doctoral and postdoctoral students

Research projects

Principal Investigator on a national project financed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport:

• Reproductive health effects of toxic and essential metals in men

Team member on projects financed by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ):

• Assessment of Daily Exposure to Metals and Maternal Individual Susceptibility as Contributing Factors to Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (METALORIGINS)
• Organic Pollutants in Environment – Markers and Biomarkers of Toxicity (OPENTOX)

Team member on research projects financed by the ministry in charge:

• Reproductive health effects of metals in men
• Levels of essential and toxic metals in children’s blood
• Interactions of Lead, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc in Relation to Blood Pressure in Man
• Metals in the Environment and their Health Impacts

Collaborator on international projects:

• Lead and Neuropsychological Function in Children (JF-906/EPA, USA)
• Effects of Lead on the Reproduction Ability in Man (LH-378/ILZRO, USA)

Editorial and reviewer activities

Ongoing Editorial board member:

• Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju (IMROH)
• All Life (Taylor & Francis)

Associate Editor:

• Frontiers in Public Health, section Environmental Health and Exposome (Frontiers Media SA)

Special Issue or Guest Editor:

• Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju: Environmental and lifestyle effects on health
• Antioxidants (MDPI): Oxidative Stress Induced by Environmental and Lifestyle Stressors: Impact on Reproductive Health and Development, Vol. 1-3
• Frontiers in Public Health Environmental Risk Factors in Noncommunicable Diseases: New Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms

Past Editorial board member: Biological Trace Element Research.

Reviewer for scientific journals in the categories: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health, Toxicology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology,  Environmental Sciences, Multidisciplinary Sciences