Interdisciplinary Researcher (Stress, Mindfulness, and other Psychological Interventions)


University of Amsterdam

My path into this field began with a personal experience. While recovering from a serious traffic accident and several surgeries at the age of 22, I started practising mindfulness. My goal was simply to rebuild my ability to concentrate and study for exams. To my surprise, it changed far more than my attention; it eased how I lived with chronic pain and anxiety. That experience sparked the question that has guided my career ever since: how do practices like these actually work, and for whom?

Today I study that question as a scientist. My research combines psychology, neuroscience and molecular biology to understand how psychological interventions (such as mindfulness, cognitive-behavioural therapy and self-compassion training) affect stress and mental health. Why they help some people more than others, and what changes in the mind, brain and body when they do?

After completing a master’s programme in psychology at the University of Zagreb (Croatia), I obtained a dual PhD in Psychology and Behavioural Sciences from Coventry University (UK) and Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University (Netherlands) in 2020. 

In 2020, I founded Mindfulness Centre Split to transfer knowledge about mindfulness and mental health in my home country (Croatia), where these topics are often overlooked and stigmatised.

In 2021, I was awarded a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship to continue my research on the psychoneuroimmunology of mindfulness at the University of Amsterdam for a period of two years.

In 2023, I was awarded a Varela Grant by the Mind & Life Institute to fund my line of research at the University of Amsterdam for the next two years. You can learn more about my current and past research by clicking here.

In 2024, I became certified in Agile Project Management (AgilePM®), passing both Foundation and Practitioner exams.

In 2025, I founded the Mindfulness Consortium, a worldwide network of researchers for sharing existing data and establishing new collaborations.