Dr. Barbara Milutinović
Wing 5, room 106
Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb
Education
2014 - PhD, University of Münster, Germany - Evolutionary biology
2009 - MSc, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Projects
Current projects
Installation Research Project of the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ, UIP-2025), 2026–2031
Previous projects
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA), Ruđer Bošković Institute, 2022–2025
Research
How do animal groups prevent the spread of infectious diseases?
Group living offers many benefits, but close interactions among individuals also increase the risk of disease transmission. Unlike humans, animals do not have organised healthcare systems or access to medical treatment. This raises an important question: how do animals defend themselves against pathogens in nature?
From an evolutionary perspective, we would expect preventive strategies to evolve - behaviours that reduce exposure to pathogens and limit their spread before an internal infection develops and the physiological immune response is activated. Indeed, eusocial insects such as ants, bees and termites have evolved sophisticated collective defences against pathogens, known as social immunity, which involve coordinated responses at the colony level. In these species, cooperation is obligatory and based on a division of labour, enabling highly organised protection against disease.
However, most group-living animals are not eusocial and do not have a strict division of labour. Can such groups also evolve effective collective defences, and under what conditions does cooperation arise in the context of disease? We investigate these questions using flour beetles (Tribolium) as a model system. Specifically, we study how these animals recognise pathogens and prevent epidemics within their groups, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of disease-defence strategies across animal societies.
Understanding how animals naturally manage disease risk is essential for gaining a broader understanding of the evolution of social behaviour. If pathogens act as a strong selective pressure, they may shape not only immune mechanisms but also group structure, patterns of interaction and the level of cooperation among individuals.
Featured Publications
Stock M*, Milutinović B*, Hoenigsberger M, Grasse AV, Wiesenhofer F, Kampleitner N, Narasimhan M, Schmitt M, Cremer S (2023). Pathogen evasion of social immunity, Nat Ecol Evol 7, 450–460.
Milutinović B, Stock M, Grasse AV, Naderlinger E, Hilbe C, Cremer S (2020). Social immunity modulates competition between coinfecting pathogens, Ecol Lett, doi: 10.1111/ele.13458., research featured as issue cover image.
News
July 2026
In July, Melih Sayın, a student from Boğaziçi University (Türkiye), joined our laboratory for a two-month Erasmus+ traineeship. We look forward to working with him and wish him a successful and enjoyable stay in Zagreb!
April 2026
Dr Barbara Milutinović has been awarded an Installation Research Project by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ), which will enable her to establish her own research group and further develop research in evolutionary immunology and disease ecology. Yay!
March 2026
In March, Matteo Polato, a student from the University of Ferrara (Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Italy), joined our laboratory for a two-month Erasmus+ traineeship. We are very happy to have Matteo in our group and wish him a successful and enjoyable stay in Zagreb.
January 2026
We are pleased to welcome Wouter Boumeester from ROC Midden Nederland to the Laboratory for Evolutionary Genetics for a six-month internship. During his stay, Wouter will work on the behavioural aspects of immunity in Tribolium beetles, contributing to ongoing research on how group-living insects mitigate disease risk through collective behaviours. We look forward to his contributions and to a productive collaboration
September 2025
This September, we are excited to welcome two Erasmus+ internship students from the University of Granada, Spain: Raúl Díes Martínez and Marta Ramírez Rivero. They will be joining our team for the coming months, contributing their enthusiasm and skills to our research. We look forward to working together and wish them a great start in Zagreb!
We are also excited to share that our lab received a new laminar flow hood, funded through the Returning Scientists project, supported by the EU’s NextGenerationEU program. This important upgrade will strengthen our experimental work and provide more efficient lab conditions.
July 2025
Olivio Encoge successfully defended his Bachelor’s thesis from the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal. As part of his Erasmus internship in our lab, Olivio conducted his thesis work and presented his results in a final lecture, with his committee members joining us online. We thank him for his great contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavors!
June 2025
We welcomed Inci Uysal as Erasmus+ student from Bogazici University (Turkey). Inci will stay with us for three months to help with behavioural experiments in Tribolium.
April 2025
We welcomed two Erasmus+ students: Olivio Encoge from Setúbal University (Portugal) and Katarina Friščić from the University of Padova (Italy). We’re looking forward to a productive and fun spring together!
February 2025
We’re excited to welcome three new MSc students to our group: Nina Randić, Tamara-Ana Krušelj, and Vanda Rajak, who will be conducting their thesis research with us.