My MCW Story: Marija Raguz
At the recommendation of one Of her professor sin Croatia, she earned her PhD from MCW
Published: December, 2015
At the recommendation of one of her college professors in Croatia, Marija Raguz earned her PhD from the MCW Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. During her time at MCW, she published innumerable papers, and five years later, holds a faculty position back in Croatia and is continuing the research she started in MCW’s National Biomedical EPR Center. And last year, she was co-chair of an international symposium with Balaraman Kalyanaraman, PhD, Harry R. & Angeline E. Quadracci Professor in Parkinson’s Research and Chair and Professor of Biophysics at MCW, and Tadeusz, PhD, from the Department of Biophysics at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
“My professor recommended applying to the MCW graduate program based on the great experiences of many Croatian young scientists who already had PhD or postdoctoral positions at MCW. It proved to be an excellent suggestion,” said Marija. “I wrote a dissertation that resulted in many publications and built the foundation for successful collaborations.”
Marija is on the faculty at the University of Split School of Medicine in Split, Croatia, in the Department of Medical Physics and Biophysics, and she continues to collaborate with people she met at MCW. The focus of her research is the physical properties of biological membranes – especially properties of fiber cell plasma membranes isolated from the eye lens. It is research she began early in her PhD program under supervision of Dr. W. Karol Subczynski, Professor of Biophysics.
Marija said that during her time at MCW, she gained more than professional skills.
“I improved my English significantly, which is crucial if you want to conduct any research, and was exposed to American and many other cultures through personal friends and colleagues that gave me a chance to understand and be more accepting of people with diverse backgrounds,” Marija said. “During the four years that I spent in Milwaukee, I established many friendships, traveled a lot, visited many big cities and had a chance to enjoy beautiful nature all over the United States.”