University of Sarajevo Hosts Distinguished International Scientists: Lectures by Prof. Dunja Aksentijević and Prof. Luke O'Neill
In June 2026, UNSA academic community had an honour to welcome two exceptional scientists - from UK: a distinguished female scientist, our authentic countrywoman, Prof. Dr. Dunja Aksentijević and from Ireland: a multivalent scientist Prof. Dr. Luke O'Neill.
Prof. O'Neill has presented the most important findings of his cutting-edge research career on immunometabolism, inflammasome inhibition, and trained immunity. His lab has uncovered new anti-inflammatory metabolites, refined drug targets for chronic inflammatory diseases, and provided advanced understanding of how metabolic pathways shape immune cell behaviour which reshaped the concept of inflammation and its role in human diseases. It is worth noting that Prof. O‘Neill is also a very successful entrepreneur: he founded two successful startups (one recently acquisitioned by Roche) and is a consultant on another. He has been a member of the Royal Society (FRS) since 2016, winner of the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for Life Sciences (2012) and the Milstein Award (2018) by International Cytokine and Interferon Society. He is on the list of Thomson Reuters' top 1% of scientists in Immunology and Pharmacology/Toxicology (2002-2012).
In addition to all his talents in journalism, Irish music and rock’n’roll, writing, narration and lecturing, has the most important one – a love for nature and science that he selflessly broadcasts around him. Prof. O’Neill comes from Trinity College Dublin and is one of the most cited biochemists of today and one of the most prominent scientists ever. He received his PhD from University College London in 1988 on interleukin-1-induced prostaglandin E₂ release in human synovial cells. He was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical Research Council, fellow at Strangeways Research Laboratory, Cambridge, USA until 1991, after which he returned to his homeland where he devoted himself to his professorial work and founded the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute in 2011.
On a same day, UNSA proudly hosted Dr. Dunja Aksentijević, an authentic Bosnian and a proven patriot born in Tuzla, and one of the most cited and influential Bosnian scientists ever. She lead us through the interesting world of cardiophysiology and showed the heart from the inside in her lecture The Heart Beyond the Pump: Metabolism, sodium and the hidden biology of cardiovascular disease. She selflessly shared the state-of-the-art knowledge and potential for metabolic therapies for heart disease, with strong emphasis on mitochondrial resilience and immunometabolism. Her work is shaping next-generation treatments for diabetic cardiomyopathy, ischemic injury, and heart failure, while also integrating AI and translational medicine to broaden clinical impact.
As an inspiring woman scientist, she bravely ventured into the world of science (at the very young age of 15), with the George Soros Open Society Institute scholarship, which enabled her to study at private schools in the UK. Now she is a tenured Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology and Metabolism at the worldclass of Queen Mary University of London and also holds the position at prestigious scientific institutes as a Director of Education, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Centre for Biochemical Pharmacology. She is also listed by Expertscape among the top 0.58% of most influential experts in energy metabolism worldwide.
Dr Aksentijević, a proud mother of two, is also a dedicated mentor with the Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation, supporting young scientists and students. She also frequently visits B&H to inspire youth and promote excellence in science. She is tireless and selfless in spreading knowledge and collaborative networks, so this year she is a member of the consortium in the proposal of a scientific project within the Horizon program, which aims to raise scientific, innovation and educational capacities, knowledge and scientific activities in the field of natural sciences and cardiophysiology.
