Associate Professor Ignjatovic is the Co-Group Leader of Haematology Research at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. She established the Haematology Research Laboratory in 2001 and built a highly productive and internationally competitive team through supervision, support and mentoring of higher degree students and research assistants, roles critical to the success of her team. A/Prof Ignjatovic has made major contributions in defining age-specific development of the haemostatic system (Developmental Haemostasis) and the use of anticoagulants in children. Her research offers a unique opportunity to study differences in the haemostatic system of children compared to adults that contribute to low incidence of spontaneous thrombosis in children and increased thrombosis in ageing populations. This supports development of strategies for prevention and evidence-based treatment for thrombosis based on sound scientific knowledge. A/Prof Ignjatovic established the first normative dataset for haemostatic proteins in Australia, results that were translated to international clinical guidelines. She pioneered the world-first study of the effects, pharmacokinetics and strategies for monitoring anticoagulants in children and established the concept of 'ageing of the plasma proteome'. A/Prof Ignjatovic's research has been translated into improved anticoagulation therapy for thousands of children. She is a co-founder of the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) PediOme initiative for proteomics in paediatrics (2013) and is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Ethics Committee. She will co-chair a session at the HUPO 2014 congress and will be an editor of the paediatric edition of Proteomics Clinical Applications.

Paediatrics,Thrombosis and Haemostasis