Prof. Vesna Dimitrijević Srećković

Prof. dr. sci. med. Vesna Dimitrijević Srecković was born on June 23, 1960, in Belgrade.

Vesna graduated from “Marija Bursać” Elementary School and the Sixth Belgrade Grammar School. Then she enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade in 1979 and graduated in 1985 in the regular senior year. From 1986 to 1988, she volunteered in the endocrinology department of the former Internal Clinic A. Since 1988, she has been employed at the Institute for Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolic Diseases of the Clinical Center of Serbia. Vesna specialized in Internal Medicine and subspecialized in Endocrinology. She was appointed Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade in 1996 for the Internal Medicine (Endocrinology) course, and in 2016 she became a Full Professor.

Vesna defended her master’s thesis entitled “Effects of Gliclazide, a Sulfonylurea Type Medication, on Insulin Resistance in Type II Diabetes Mellitus” in 1992 at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. In 1995, she defended her doctoral thesis entitled “The Importance of Determining the Activity of N-Acetyl-Beta-Glucosaminidase (NAG) Enzyme as a Parameter for Assessing the Degree of Metabolic Control and Vascular Complications in Diabetes Mellitus.”

She has been the Head of the Eating Disorders and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Unit at the Center for Nutritional Therapy, Special Forms of Therapy, and Neuropathy in Diabetes at the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolic Diseases since 2003. In addition, she has headed the scientific research project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia, “Investigating Factors Affecting the Number and Functional Capacity of Human Fetal and Adult Islet Culture to Achieve the Optimal Graft Composition for Transplantation in Type 1 Diabetes,” since 2005.

Vesna speaks English and Russian. She is the author and co-author of 489 scientific papers, of which 39 are in SCI journals.

She is a member of the Endocrinology Section of the Serbian Medical Society (SMS), Mediterranean Group for the Study of Diabetes (MGSD), European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS).

Vesna wrote the book “Fasting as the Path of Life – Christian Fasting as a Method of Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes, Atherosclerosis, and Cancer” with Prof. Vladimir Vukašinović from the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade. In addition, she participated in writing the “Great Family Guide for Healthy Eating,” published by Mladinska knjiga Belgrade in 2016, and is the co-author of the book “Male Sexual Function and Disorders” published by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Niš.

Since 1986, she has studied insulin resistance, especially at the receptor level, in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus as part of her master’s thesis. Vesna is among the first in our community to introduce combined therapy of insulin and peroral agents in treatment.

Vesna made a notable contribution to the creation and application of doctrinal positions in nutrition, especially in obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, its complications, and atherosclerosis (hyperlipoproteinemia). She is the author of individualized Mediterranean menus rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and monounsaturated fatty acids, with different caloric intakes of 800kcal, 1000kcal, 1200kcal, 1500kcal, 1800kcal, 2000kcal, and 2500kcal, which are approved by the Republic’s Expert Board for Diabetes and promoted at the 4th Serbian Congress on Diabetes in 1998. She was one of the first in our community who worked on markers of microangiopathic and macroangiopathic complications as part of her doctoral thesis, especially the activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) in urine and serum. She proved that the NAG enzyme is an early marker of diabetic nephropathy before microalbuminuria and a significant factor when it comes to vascular complications in diabetes.

Vesna achieved remarkable results in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus and presented her research results at numerous congresses worldwide. She participates in the international IMAGE project for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, where she made a significant contribution with her experience and results in creating the European evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of diabetes for 2009. She was also a member of the European DE PLAN study for the prevention of diabetes.

She was a member of the PREDICE project “Early Prevention of Diabetes Complications in Europe” on the influence of hyperglycemia on micro and macrovascular complications. In addition, she is a member of the project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia, “Interactive Role of Dyslipidemia, Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Atherosclerosis and Other Diseases: Genetic and Biochemical Markers.”

In recent years, she has studied metabolic syndrome in children, adolescents, and young adults and defined the new term – premetabolic syndrome. She proved that premetabolic syndrome is characterized by hyperinsulinism, insulin resistance, elevated inflammation and thrombosis factors, and decreased antioxidant protection. The paper “Elevated C Reactive Protein and Reduced Total Antioxidant Status in Children and Young People with Metabolic Syndrome” was awarded the Hippocrates Award as the best paper at the Mediterranean Congress for the Study of Diabetes in 2007 in Istanbul.

She presented Serbia with two papers at the World Diabetes Congress in Melbourne in December 2013. She delivered an oral presentation of the paper “Decreased Insulin Sensitivity and Antioxidant Protection and Increased Inflammation and Thrombosis Factors in Children, Adolescents and Young People with Metabolic Syndrome.”

At the world congress in Vancouver, she presented two papers: “Progression of Abdominal Obesity in Youth Followed by Testosterone Decrease Leading to Erectile Dysfunction” and “Abdominal Obesity Responsible for Depression and Risk of Early Atherosclerosis in Adolescents and Youth.”

In the Intellectual Property Office, Vesna protected a PATENT entitled “NATURAL RAW MATERIAL BASED DIETARY SUPPLEMENT FOR REGULATING AND REDUCING BODY WEIGHT” P-496/01.

She has recently made an outstanding contribution to new scientific knowledge and works related to the prevention and treatment of diabetes, atherosclerosis, fatty liver, depression, infertility, and cancer, which she presented at numerous European and world congresses.

Visit the website of Dr. Vesna Dimitrijević Srećković.