Habilitation award winners 2018: Dr. Milos Filipovic, PhD

Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy

What was the subject of your habilitation thesis?

In my habilitation research I tried to understand how gaseous transmitters produced in our body, nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide, interact with each other and how this interaction affects the function of the cells and the entire organism.

What excites you the most about your research?

I love solving problems. The more “impossible” to solve they may seem, the more of a challenge it is. I approach my research in the same way. After all, one secret of a successful experiment is to formulate an intelligent question and address it to nature.

Which difficulties did you encounter during your habilitation and how did you overcome them?

I don’t see the problems I experienced as real problems. They are part of the job. I suppose the most major problem you can be faced with is trying to convince your peers that your observation is valid if you stumble upon something that is different and not in line with the norm. Once that is done, everything starts to move smoothly.

To which extent has your research changed you and your view of the world?

The research helped me understand some of the fundamental principles of human physiology and apply them to everyday life. I learned a lot not only about the specific topic I study but also about the scientific world.

What’s next – for you and your field of research?

My team is continuing to do research, exploring some of the questions that my habilitation research opened up. We are trying to understand the link between aging and gasotransmitter signalling, in the hope that we can discover some pharmacological methods to slow it down.

Thank you very much for the interview, Dr. Filipovic.