Janko Nikolich elected to Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Janko Nikolich, MD, PhD, director of the Aegis Consortium and co-director of the University of Arizona Center on Aging, is a new foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, one of the highest honors a Serbian scientist can receive.

Nikolich, an internationally recognized immunologist and gerontologist, was elected to the academy in November.

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As a kid growing up in Belgrade, Serbia, Nikolich said he would pass the academy several times a week since it’s located on a street near his childhood home. His parents had friends who were members, and one even served as president of the academy. Nikolich said the academy was regarded as one of the three pillars of Serbian society, along with the army and the church. 

“It’s still surreal in some ways,” said Nikolich, who is also the department head and a professor in the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Immunobiology. He is also a member of the BIO5 Institute.

“The Serbian Academy’s recognition of Dr. Janko Nikolich is a testament to his impactful contributions to science and his dedication to improving the health of aging populations,” said Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president for the University of Arizona Health Sciences. “His groundbreaking research on T-cell function, immunity in older adults and immune rejuvenation has advanced our understanding of aging and chronic conditions. Being honored by one’s home country is a significant achievement, and we are proud to celebrate this milestone with him.”

Nikolich’s election to the academy as one of five international members was more than a year in the making. Nikolich, who received his medical degree, master’s and doctorate from the University of Belgrade, where he has been a visiting professor for more than two decades, learned last year that his colleagues intended to nominate him. 

“Of course, that is an honor by itself,” he said.

After the initial nomination, Nikolich and the other nominees went through several rounds of preliminary voting before a general ballot of the entire academy membership was held.

At the November ceremony, Nikolich received a lapel pin and diploma. As a foreign member, he will return to Belgrade to give a lecture relating to his work on immune aging and rejuvenation of the immune system. That will likely happen in June.

While Nikolich said he’s looking forward to the celebration, first he has a fairly cumbersome task to prepare for his lecture before the academy.

“I most certainly do not mind giving the lecture in Serbian. The part that is an extra effort is that I have to put all of my slides in Serbian,” he joked.