When you go for a blood test, do you ever wonder how your body regulates the number of different blood cells? This is worth considering, as no one knows exactly how the body maintains the balance between blood cells, according to Ana Cvejic, Visiting Professor at InFLAMES. She has received a lot of advice during her research career, but she remembers one piece of advice particularly well. 

Dr. Ana Cvejic works at the University of Copenhagen, where she leads her own research group at BRIC (Biotechnology Research and Innovation Centre). Cvejic’s group studies the development of blood cells and how the environment affects their formation.

“Our focus is on hematopoietic stem cells, and we are interested in how they choose which cell type to differentiate into. A stem cell has many options, as there are more than ten different blood cell types. It is evident that the development of different types is strictly regulated and that there is a genetic regulatory network behind it, because otherwise it would not be possible for human blood values to remain within certain limits,” says Ana Cvejic.

For a long time, Ana considered herself to be representing basic research, but now, as she has accumulated more knowledge, she developed a strong interest in exploring the clinical applications of research findings.  In fact, today she says that her group’s goal is also to use stem cell research to develop new treatments for diseases and improve public health.

“The treatment of many diseases, such as cancer, requires bone marrow transplants, which are intended to stimulate the bone marrow to produce new stem cells that can then differentiate into healthy blood cells. I am interested in how we could make stem cells expand and differentiate into blood cells in a controlled manner outside the body, in vitro.”

From Serbia to Finland with grit

Ana Cvejic was born and educated in Serbia. She is the first member of her family to receive an academic education and pursue a career in research. Even as a child, she knew what she wanted to do when she grew up, but she cannot remember where the idea of becoming a researcher came from. She had no role models.

Ana got her Diploma degree in Molecular Biology and Physiology from the University of Belgrade. After that, she recounts applying for at least a hundred doctoral researcher positions.

“I was completely unaware of the possibilities within my field of study and what would make a good research topic for me. Coming from Serbia at that time, I didn’t have much choice in what I could study but was happy to take whatever opportunity was available to me”, she says.

Then her persistent applications paid off, and Ana was offered a position as a doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu in Professor Kalervo Hiltunen‘s group. However, fate played a trick on the young researcher, as she met a fellow Serbian in Oulu and fell in love. When her boyfriend—later husband—left to study in Bristol, England, Ana followed him. Ana’s stay in Oulu lasted less than a year, but she has fond memories of her time there. “I remain impressed to this day by the hospitality and support I got from the supervisor, even though our time working together was relatively brief”- Ana remembers.

In Bristol, Ana had the opportunity to write her doctoral thesis, which she completed in 2008. It addressed the wound healing and imaging. When she finished her thesis, Ana received a piece of advice from her supervisor: you should leave academia.

“I was dedicated doctoral researcher, and even my supervisor acknowledged my abilities.  However, while he recognized my conscientious approach and drive to achieve, he viewed these qualities as potentially challenging for a career in academia, perhaps overlooking my genuine passion for scientific inquiry.” Ana explains.

“Many years later, he came to see me and acknowledged that his earlier assessment from 14 years ago had been wrong!”

From Cambridge to Copenhagen

Ana reveals her next decision might not have been solely driven by idealistic motives. Her primary goal was to join a leading university where she could advance her professional growth and career. Cambridge offered both the prestige and intellectual challenge, so Ana joined Professor Willem Ouwehand’s research group at the University of Cambridge, while performing her day-to-day research at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

And then things started to happen: In 2012, Ana received a CRUK (Cancer Research UK) Career Development Fellowship grant and was able to establish her own research group in Cambridge. The CRUK grant was followed by the ERC Starting Grant in 2016 and the EMBO Young Investigator Award in 2017. In 2022, Ana was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant, at which point she decided to leave the UK.

“I enjoyed Cambridge, but as a group leader, I reached a point where I felt I had accomplished my goals but could no longer advance my science in the direction I envisioned. The university did not provide any assurances regarding my prospects as a tenured professor. That is why I decided to accept the professorship in Copenhagen. My family moved with me, and I started everything from scratch again.”

Ana Cvejic considers the Danish university and research culture to be very different from Cambridge. Balancing work and family life is easier, but sometimes she finds the Nordic democratic approach to decision-making and implementation as somewhat slower. Nevertheless, she considers Copenhagen as an ideal place for teenagers to live. Her children, who were once against moving, have now come to share her positive view.

“I am well aware of my own limitations – for example, I am not particularly good at networking. However, everyone needs people around them who believe in their potential, especially during moments of self-doubt or indecision. The number of people that support you is less important; what matters is that they are willing to give their time and that their advice is truly trusted. I was lucky enough to have these people in my life”

Ana Cvejic says she is working basically all the time, but she mentions one hobby.

“Baking. I prefer baking cakes; baking bread isn’t exciting enough for me.”

Liisa Koivula