Aleksandra DAKIC

Biography

Dr. Aleksandra Dakic is a Health Science Specialist in the Clinical Interventions and Diagnostics Branch in the Division of Neuroscience. She supports the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers and the implementation of the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. 

Aleksandra has more than 20 years of experience in basic science and medical research. She completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and Georgetown University. She spent 12 years at Georgetown University conducting research on the basic biology of papillomaviruses and their role in human cancers. During her research career, she has gained extensive experience in cell immortalization and reprogramming, as well as 3 dimensional and organoid modelling. As a Scientist at American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Aleksandra collaborated with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) team to develop and implement new mouse cell line authentication standards that will enable more traceable and reproducible research.

Before joining the NIA, she conducted stem-cell differentiation research in the Section on Developmental Neurogenomics at NIMH to clarify mechanisms for atypical macroscale brain organization in neuropsychiatric disorders. Her specific interest was developing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived in vitro neuronal cellular models to enhance our understanding of sex chromosome influences on human neurodevelopment.