Research Associate

 

 

 

 

Address: Karnegijeva 4, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia
Laboratory 305 at Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade
Telephone: + 381 11 337 03 89
Fax: + 381 11 337 03 89
GSM: + 381 60 6262612
E-mail: sanja.seslija@ihtm.bg.ac.rs; sseslija@tmf.bg.ac.rs

Education:

BSc in Technology Engineering, Chemical engineering - Division of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 2006-2010, Average mark: 9.10/10
MSc in Technology Engineering-Chemical engineering, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 2010 - 2011, Average mark: 9.75/10.0
PhD in Technological Engineering-Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Department of Organic Chemical Technology, University of Belgrade, 2011-2018. Title dissertation: ‘’Acylated derivatives of pectin: synthesis, characterization and applicative potential’’, Supervisor: Prof. Dr Ivanka Popović, Average mark: 9.75/10.0

Research Ranks:

2013  - Research Trainee
2014 - Research Assistant
2019 - Research Associate

Memberships: Serbian Chemical Society, International Council on Materials Education

Professional Experience:

2011-2014 - Research Trainee, Innovation Centre of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade
2014-2019 - Research Assistant, Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade
2019 - Present Research Associate, Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade

International collaboration mobility and trainings:

Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), Naples, Italy
Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Materials Technology, Polymer Division, Piotrowo, Poznan, Poland
University of Groningen, Department of Polymer Chemistry at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Groningen, Netherlands
Total three months internship (2013, 2015, 2016, 2018) at the Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), Naples, Italy
ERASMUS Staff Training Week  on soft skills and entrepreneurship, 2017, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
(details on link: http://rewbc.ni.ac.rs/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Report-Torino-meeting-May-2017.pdf)
ERASMUS Staff Training Week  ‘’In search of HR excellence in research’’,  2017, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
(details on link: http://rewbc.ni.ac.rs/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Staff-training-week-.pdf)
National Institute of Chemistry, Department for Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 5 weeks intership within the framework of EIT Climate-KIC program „Pioneers into Practice’’ for 2020. year

Awards and Honors:

2006-2011 - Talent Scholarship (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development)
2011 - Outstanding achievements during the studies (Serbian Chemical society)
2016 - Scholarships for Conference Attendance (IUPAC)
2016 - IUPAC poster award: 24th World Forum on Advanced Materials (PolyChar 24), Poznan, Poland
2019 - IUPAC poster award: 27th World Forum on Advanced Materials (PolyChar27), Naples, Italy

Research Interests:

Natural polymers: modification and application. Synthesis and characterization of bio-based polymers intended for use in agriculture and for food packaging. Biomaterials.

Citation: 146 (without self citations); h = 7 (Oct 2020)

Language Skills: English, French

Projects:

2011- Present National Project No. 172062 ‟Synthesis and characterization of new functional polymers and polymer (nano) composites", funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia
2012-2015 Bilateral project between Italy and Serbia, “Innovative pectin-based films for food packaging: preparation andcharacterization” , funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy (team member)
2016-2018 Bilateral project between Italy and Serbia, ‟Development and improvement of polysaccharide-based films for potential application in food packaging‟, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy (team member)
2018–2020 “Pavle Savic” programme, partnership Hubert Curien -bilateral project between Serbia and France; “Valorization of industrial waste for the production of environmental-friendly material” (WP leader)
2013-2014 ‘’Development of a new technological process for the production of crystalline deodorant from hydrated mineral salts of potassium-aluminum-sulphate‟, funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and UNIPLAST d.o.o, Preljina (team member)
2016-2017 ‘’Development of innovative antimicrobial packaging for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products‟, funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and UNIPLAST d.o.o, Preljina (WPs leader)
2018-2020 “Development of active pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging“, funded by Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia and UNIPLAST d.o.o, Preljina (WPs leader)
2018-2019 "Antimicrobial active cosmetic and pharmaceutical package", funded by Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia and Serbia Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer Project (team member)
2017-2019 “Development of eco-friendly waterborn polychloroprene contact adhesives“, funded by Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia and TETRAGON d.o.o, Čačak (WPs leader)
2019-2020 ‘’The development of novel bio-based waterborne adhesives for paper industry’’ funded by EBRD and TETRAGON d.o.o, Čačak (WPs leader)
2015-2019 Erasmus + project funded by EU: ‟Enhancement of HE research potential contributing to further growth of the WB region‟ (administrative coordinator at the University of Belgrade)
2019-2022 COST Action CA18220: European network of FURan based chemicals and materials FOR a Sustainable development (MC Substitute)

Major Publications:

Book chapter:

1.    A. Nesic, S.Seslija, The influence of nanofillers on physical-chemical properties of polysaccharide-based film intendeed for food packaging In:Nanotechnology in the Agri-Food industry, Food Packaging, Volume VII, Ed. Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu, ISBN: 9780128043028, ELSEVIER (Academic Press), Cambridge, USA, 2016 (637-699).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128043028000194

Published papers:

1. Sešlija, S., Nešić, A., Ružić, J., Kalagasidis Krušić, M., Veličković, S., Avolio, R., Santagata, G., and Malinconico, M. Edible blend films of pectin and poly(ethylene glycol): Preparation and physico-chemical evaluation, Food Hydrocolloids, 77(2018), 494-501.
2. Panic, V. V., Seslija, S. I., Popovic, I. G., Spasojevic, V. D., Popovic, A. R., Nikolic, V. B., and Spasojevic, P. M., Simple One-Pot Synthesis of Fully Biobased Unsaturated Polyester Resins Based on Itaconic Acid, Biomacromolecules, 18(2017), 3881-3891.
3. Džunuzović, Jasna V., Stefanović, Ivan S., Džunuzović, Enis S., Dapčević, Aleksandra, Šešlija, Sanja I., Balanč, Bojana D., Lama, Giuseppe C., Polyurethane networks based on polycaprolactone and hyperbranched polyester: Structural, thermal and mechanical investigation. Progress in Organic Coatings, 2019. 137: p. 105305.
4. Maja D. Markovic, Pavle M. Spasojevic, Sanja I. Seslija, Ivanka G. Popovic, Djordje N. Veljovic, Rada V. Pjanovic, Vesna V. Panic, Casein-poly(methacrylic acid) hybrid soft networks with easy tunable properties, European Polymer Journal, 113(2019), 276-288.
5. Bojana Z. Fidanovski, Pavle M. Spasojevic, Vesna V. Panic, Sanja I. Seslija, Jelena P. Spasojevic, Ivanka G. Popovic, Synthesis and characterization of fully bio-based unsaturated polyester resins, Journal of Materials Science, 53(2018), 4635–46445.
6. S. Seslija, P. Spasojevic, V. Panic, M.Dobrzyńska-Mizera, B. Immirzi, Ј. Stevanovic, I. Popovic, Physico-chemical evaluation of hydrophobically modified pectin derivatives: Step toward application, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 113(2018), 924-932.
7. P. Spasojevic, M. Zrilic, V. Panic, D. Stamenkovic, S. Seslija, S. Velickovic, The Mechanical Properties of a Poly(methyl methacrylate) Denture Base Material Modified with Dimethyl Itaconate and Di-n-butyl Itaconate, International Journal of Polymer Science 2015(2015), Article ID 561012, 9 pages.
8. S. Seslija, Dj. Veljovic, M. Kalagasidis Krusic, J. Stevanovic, S. Velickovic and I. Popovic, Cross-linking of highly methoxylated pectin with copper: The specific anion influence, New Journal of Chemistry, 40(2016), 1618-1625.
9. Maja D. Markovic, Vesna V. Panica, Sanja I. Seslija, Ana D. Milivojevic, Pavle M. Spasojevic, Nevenka M. Boskovic-Vragolovic, Rada V. Pjanovic, Novel strategy for encapsulation and targeted delivery of poorly water-soluble active substances, Polymer Engineering & Science, 60(2020), 2008-2022.
10. P. Spasojevic, V. Panic, S. Seslija, V. Nikolic, I. Popovic, S. Velickovic, Poly(methyl methacrylate) denture base materials modified with ditetrahydrofurfurylitaconate: Significant applicative properties, Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society, 80(2015) 1-18.
11. V. Panić, S. Šešlija, A. Nešić, S. Veličković , Adsorption of azo dyes on polymer materials, Hemijska industrija, 67(2013), 881-900.
12. Vukašin Ugrinović, Vesna Panić, Đorđe Veljović, Pavle Spasojević, Sanja Šešlija, Đorđe Janaćković, Uticaj neutralizacije na svojstva poroznih hidrogelova na bazi hidroksiapatita i poli(metakrilne kiseline) sintetisanih slobodno-radikalskom polimerizacijom, Tehnika, 73(5) (2018), pp. 613-620.
13. Maja D. Markovic, Vesna V. Panic, Sanja I. Seslija, Pavle M. Spasojevic, Vukasin Dj. Ugrinovic, Nevenka M. Boskovic-Vragolovic, Rada V. Pjanovic, Modification of hydrophilic polymer network to design a carrier for a poorly water-soluble substance, Polymer Engineering & Science, 60(2020), 2496-2510.

Conference Proceedings and Papers:

1. S. Šešlija, Vesna V. Panić, Pavle M. Spasojević, Ana S. Pantelić, Ivanka G. Popović, Synthesis and characterization of pectin esters obtained by reaction with dichlorides of glutaric and sebacic acid, Fifteenth Young Researchers Conference -Materials science and engineering, 2016, Belgrade, Book of Abstracts, p.15, ISBN 978-86-80321-32-5.
2. S.Seslija, A. Nesic, M. Kalgasidis Krusic, G. Santagata, M. Malinconico, Innovative pectin based films for food packaging: Preparation and characterization, XXI IUPAC CHEMRAWN CONFERENCE, 2016, Rome, Italy, Book of abstracts, p.42.
3. S. Seslija, V. Panic, P. Spasojevic, I. Popovic, Modification of pectin in the reaction of conventional esterification using chlorides of renewable carboxylic diacids, ECO-BIO, 2016, Rotterdam, Nederlands, Book of abstracts, P1.17.
4. S. Seslija, V. Panic, P. Spasojevic, I. Popovic, Novel Approach in Improvement of Native Pectin Properties: Modification Using Chlorides of Renewable Carboxylic Diacids, Polychar, 2016, Poznan, Poland, Book of abstracts, P3.3.
5. Sanja Seslija, Pavle Spasojevic, Vesna Panic, Melina Kalagasidis Krusic, Ivanka Popovic, Investigation of the plastifying properties of PEG Fatty acid esters used in bio-based film formulation, 27th PolyChar Conference - World Forum on Advanced Materials, Naples, October 14-17, 2019, pp. 142, P35 ( Poster prize)
6. Pavle Spasojević, Sanja Seslija, Vesna Panic, Katarina Antic, Ivanka Popovic, Rheological properties of styrene free unsaturated polyester resins, 27th PolyChar Conference - World Forum on Advanced Materials, Naples, October 14-17, 2019, pp. 143, P36
7. Lučić Škorić M., Milošević K., Šešlija S., Santagata G., Malinconico M., Kalagasidis Krušić M.: New, Eco-friendly gelatin-based material for food packaging, 13th Symposium “Novel Technologies and Economic Development”, Leskovac, October 18-19, 2019, Book of abstracts, pp. 136, ISBN 978-86-89429-35-0
8. Maja Marković, Vesna Panić, Sanja Šešlija, Pavle Spasojević, Vukašin Ugrinović, Nevenka Bošković-Vragolović, Rada Pjanović, Soft polymeric networks based on poly(methacrylic acid), itaconic acid, casein and liposomes for targeted delivery and controlled release of poorly water soluble active substance, 6th International Conference on Electrical, Electronic and Computing Engineering IcETRAN 2019, June 3-6, 2019, Silver Lake, Serbia, p. 665, ISBN 978-86-7466-785-9
9. Maja D. Markovic, Sanja I. Seslija, Vesna V. Panic, Rada V. Pjanovic, Three dimensional polymeric networks based on poly(methacrylic acid) and protein for targeted delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs, 7 th Conference of the Young Chemists of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia, 2019, Book of Abstracts, p. 134, ISBN 978-86-7132-076-4
10. Maja D. MARKOVIC, Vesna V. PANIC, Sanja I. SESLIJA, Rada V. PJANOVIC, pH-sensitive hydrogels based on poly(methacrylic acid), casein and liposomes for targeted delivery of poorly water-soluble active substances, The 33rd International Congress on Processing Industry, Belgrade, Serbia (2020)

Invited lectures:

1. "Bio-based polymers: Steps towards environmental responsibility", COST ES1306 Scientific Workshop: "Connectivity as a Tool to Understand Water/Soil/Sediment Pollution", 2017, Belgrade. 
2. ‘’Applications of sustainable materials in package industry and agriculture’’, ‘’VISION Final Conference“ , 2016, Belgrade.