Ivana Bojanic
I was born in 1984 in Serbia (Belgrade) and have an educational background in pharmacy and medical biochemistry, as well as a master’s degree in pharmaceutical health prevention from the University of Belgrade. I have three years of clinical experience as the head of a biochemical laboratory at a health center in the small town of Sečanj in northern Serbia.
I hold a PhD in medicine and health sciences from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU (2023), specializing in pharmacoepidemiology and mental health conditions, with a particular focus on population with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
In 2023, I started a full-time position at the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences at Nord University, where I work with research, supervision of master’s students and PhD fellows, as well as teaching on the Namsos and Levanger campuses.
Over the past two years, my research has focused on mental health and medication use among young people and students, as well as somatic and mental health among the Sami population and Indigenous peoples in Arctic regions. I have a particular interest in developing culturally safe health and care services for Indigenous populations and their elders, utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, collaborative design (co-design), and innovation.
I engage in active dissemination through teaching as well as scientific and popular science lectures aimed at both the public and professionals in the fields of medication use, youth mental health, and the mental and somatic health of the Sami and Indigenous populations. I teach bachelor’s and master’s students in subjects such as physiology, pharmacology, and quantitative research methods, and supervise PhD fellows and master’s students.
I am an active and engaged researcher with numerous national and international collaborators, and I serve as leader and partner in several interdisciplinary research projects.
Currently, I am involved in several ongoing externally and internally funded research projects, including:
Exploring Cultural Safety in Municipal Healthcare Services for Saami with Somatic Diseases: A Mixed-Methods Study Using the SAMINOR Study – Prosjektleder (finansiert av Nord universitet og Samisk nasjonal kompetansetjeneste – psykisk helsevern og rus- SANKS, 267 000 NOK)
Mental health in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes among the Sami population: Role of ethnic discrimination and sociodemographic factors—The SAMINOR Study – Project leader (finansiert av SANKS, 167 000 NOK)
Psykisk helse relatert til sosial støtte og tilhørighet i lokalmiljø, Project member, (finansiert av Stiftelsen DAM, 3 mil NOK)
Promoting Healthy Aging of Sámi and Inuit Elders Through Co-Designed Digital Health Tool | NordForsk – Prosjektleder (finansiert av NordForsk, 15 mil NOK)