Hi, I’m Milica Pavlović and I come from Serbia, located in Southeastern Europe. I earned my degree in Pharmacy from the University of Belgrade.

While in high school, I’ve conducted the analysis of owl’s pellets in order to examine the long-eared owl’s nutrition and worm infestations of Rana species. During college years, I tried to reconcile my different interests so I participated in a couple of research projects that were held by different departments: biochemistry (in-vitro redox biology), bromatology (fatty acids’ analysis), toxicology (psychoactive controlled substances). However, my final thesis reviewed the abuse-deterrent formulations, as I was keen in combining pharmaceutical technology (formulation strategies) with the field of psychoactive controlled substances. The story of how I came to this theme is rather interesting, it came while reading an annual ranking compiled by a well-known magazine.

Past three years I’ve been working in Drug Regulatory Affairs and that gave me an opportunity to: get a glimpse at the pharma/biotech industry, a time for self-reflection and to re-evaluate what I consider personally meaningful and worth to spend my career and life on.

The decision to change the course of my career to toxicology happened because I was looking for a field that: (1) nurtures a truly multi- and interdisciplinary approach (2) has a very well organized, structured and supportive community (3) offers diverse career opportunities which is aligned with my personality.

I’ve chosen the Human Toxicology Program at the University of Iowa because of: (1) academic reasons - collaborative environment, 3 lab rotations, offers the strategies derived from the research which are community-meaningful, strongly encourages active participation in career development (2) non-academic reasons – I wanted to get outside of my comfort zone and learn through cultural adjustments and differences but also explore the life in the US outside of big city areas.

When I have free time, I love spending it on recreational activities, I enjoy walking and exploring the world of perfumes. 

Advisor: Jung Song Kim, PhD