Dr. Elisa Pasquale, junior researcher and student of the postgraduate doctoral course of studies at the University of Milan, Italy, is in visit at the Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry of the Croatian Veterinary Institute in Zagreb in the period from 6 October 2014 until 6 January 2015. Dr. Pasquale is a junior researcher at the University of Milan, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Divet, Department of Veterinary Sciences and Public Health, under the mentorship by Luca M. Chiesa, PhD. Her scope of research includes the development of contemporary analytical methods in the analyses of residues of natural and synthetic steroids, with the application of liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The topic of her dissertation is part of the “Biosafe” project of the University of Milan, providing young researchers with education abroad in their respective research field.

The purpose of Dr. Pasquale’s stay at our Laboratory is to improve the knowledge and analytical skills in the area of determination of substances with anabolic effect in various biological samples, including liquids and tissues of farm animals which may show the presence and abuse of these highly toxic substances in the cattle breeding industry. In the Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry of our Institute, as the National Reference Laboratory for substances with anabolic effect, the analyses are conducted on daily basis, by use of sophisticated confirmatory LC-MS/MS multi-methods in their detection and quantification. Therefore during the three-month visit by Dr. Pasquale and her participation in our Laboratory activities, she would exchange her prior experience with our analysts in this field and obtain some additional knowledge and skills required in the preparation of her dissertation and her further research.

In the period from 6 October until mid-December, student Anja Parežanin is staying at the Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonoses and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases of the Croatian Veterinary Institute. The purpose of her stay is education for the preparation of her diploma thesis on the topic of Brucellosis. Ms. Parežanin will improve her knowledge in the field of serological tests of animal blood on brucellosis with three diagnostic methods: Rose-Bengal test (RBT), complement fixation test (CFT), enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) and will be introduced into the Croatian national laws regarding the control and eradication of brucellosis.

Anja Parežanin was born in Dubrovnik but she attended her primary and secondary school in Italy. She continued her education at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Bologna, "Scuola di Agraria e Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Bologna". During her education, she visited Spain on two occasions within the Erasmus Program, where she stayed at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona – UAB in Barcelona, for a year, and at Universidad Cardenal Herrera- CEU in Valencia, for 3 months. Through that experience, she learned about different practices of studying, hospital work and field work in a foreign language.

For her diploma thesis, she selected the topic of Brucellosis. In her desire to visit her home country, she was supported by her epidemiology professor, Fabio Ostanello. Her contact with the Croatian Veterinary Institute was successful thanks to Prof. Željko Cvetnić, PhD, General Manager of the Institute. Through her work at the Institute’s laboratory, she hopes to expand her knowledge of her mother tongue and to gain knowledge about the Institute’s activities and staff. The part of her studies she spent in Zagreb has given her many opportunities for her professional future and for cooperation between her two homelands.