| Title: | Assistant |
| Function: | Assistant |
| Location: | 218 |
| Public phone number: | +385 1 4606 147 |
| Internal phone number: | 6147 |
| E-mail: | |
| Department: | Division of Physical Chemistry |
| Graduation year: | 2019 |
| PhD graduation year: | 2023 |
| Employed in this institution since: | 2019 |
(by agreement via email)
Andrea Usenik was born in Rijeka on May 20, 1995. In 2002, she enrolled in the Vladimir Gortan Elementary School (Rijeka), which she completed in 2010, and enrolled in the School of Science and Graphic Arts in Rijeka, majoring in Natural Science Gymnasium. During her school education, she participated in numerous competitions in chemistry and mathematics, and in state competitions in chemistry she achieved significant success, i.e. she won first place twice (2011 and 2014) and second place (2012). In 2014, she represented Croatia at the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she won a bronze medal. Based on the results achieved, she has been awarded the Oscar of Knowledge three times (Education and Teacher Training Agency).
She enrolled in the undergraduate study of chemistry at the Faculty of Science (University of Zagreb) in 2014 and completed it in 2017 with a final thesis entitled The Solvent Effect on the Kinetics of Chemical Reactions (mentor Prof. Vladislav Tomišić). During her undergraduate studies, she volunteered at the Division of Organic Chemistry (2016−2017 under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Vesna Petrović Peroković and Prof. Srđanka Tomić Pisarović). In 2017, she started volunteering at the Division of Physical Chemistry under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Josip Požar and enrolled in the Graduate Study of Chemistry (major: Inorganic and Physical Chemistry). In 2019, she was awarded the Rector's Award (paper entitled Thermodynamics of complexation of alkali metal cations with the fluorescent derivative calix[4]arene in organic solvents, mentor Prof. Vladislav Tomišić). She completed her graduate studies in 2019 with a thesis entitled Thermodynamics of complexation of alkaline-earth metal cations by a fluorescent phenanthridine-based calix[4]arene derivative (mentor Prof. Vladislav Tomišić) and was awarded the Medal of the Department of Chemistry for excellence in studies. During her studies, she started working on professional projects at the Department of Physical Chemistry, and since October 2019 she has been employed as an expert associate. She enrolled in the postgraduate study of Chemistry (major: Physical Chemistry) in the same year, and her doctoral dissertation entitled Thermodynamics of Inclusion Reactions of Amphiphilic Compounds with Cyclodextrins and Cucurbiturils was written under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Josip Požar and successfully defended on December 20, 2023.
She was an associate on the Croatian Science Foundation project Coordination reactions of macrocyclic ligands in solution (MacroSol) from 2020 to 2024. Since 2020, she has been working as an assistant at the Department of Physical Chemistry and participated in teaching numerous courses (Physical Chemistry 2, Chemical Thermodynamics, Elements of Physical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Laboratory 1, Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory 1 and 2). She is the direct supervisor of three graduate theses (one of which is in progress).
She is a co-author of seven scientific papers cited in the WoS and Scopus databases. She has presented her results at numerous conferences (four invited lectures, four section lectures, and over 30 poster presentations).
She has been a member of the Croatian Chemical Society since 2014 and the American Chemical Society (ACS) since 2023.
Since 2024, she has served as a National Delegate in the European Young Chemists' Network (EYCN, a branch of the European Chemical Society, EuChemS). Andrea has been selected as a CAS Young Scientist and organizes and conducts workshops related to CAS platforms (SciFinder, Formulus, Analytical Methods). In the same year, she became the editor of a special issue of the journal Croatica Chemica Acta dedicated to the Solutions in Chemistry 2024 conference and assumed the role of Representative of Associate Titles of the Division of Physical Chemistry in the Council of the Department of Chemistry.
She has participated and currently participates in the organization and implementation of numerous activities related to the popularization of science within the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Science (Open Day of the Department of Chemistry, Day and Night at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb Expo/Fair – represented the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Science in 2017 with the presentation "Where there is smoke... There's also fire!" and the Croatian Chemical Society (activities of the Student Section of the Croatian Chemical Society). She participated in the organization of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Symposium of Chemistry Students (as an associate, member of the Organizing Committee, and advisor), 25th and 27th Croatian Meeting of Chemists and Chemical Engineers (volunteer, member of the Organizing Committee), Adriatic NMR Conference and Magnetic Moments in Central Europe 2022 (MMCE2022). She is currently participating in the organization of the international conference Solutions in Chemistry, of which she is the secretary and initiator.
She is engaged in graphic design and preparation and has designed the visual identity of several events (β-Lactam Day, PHARMA – Behind closed doors), conferences (27HSKIKI, MMCE2022, Solutions in Chemistry), projects (MacroSol, Product Development through Scientific Expertise) and the Leopold Ružička Award. She has also designed the cover of the book Organic Stereochemistry in Croatia and Prelog School and many printed materials (Adriatic NMR Conference, Supramolecular Chemistry 2020, 27HSKIKI, AdiDent, Why Not?!, Embrace Croatia...).
1. M. Modrušan, N. Cindro, A. Usenik, K. Leko, L. Glazer, R. Tomaš, G. Horvat, J. Požar, V. Tomišić, Complexation of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metal Cations by Fluorescent Glycoconjugated Calix[4]arene Derivative: Thermodynamic and Computational Studies, Croat. Chem. Acta. 2024, 97(4), DOI: 10.5562/cca4115.
2. A. Usenik, N. Kallay, V. Tomišić, Motion of ions in solution under the influence of an electric field: microscopic vs. macroscopic view, J. Chem. Educ. 2024, 101(9), 3805−3812.
3. K. Leko, A. Usenik, N. Cindro, M. Modrušan, J. Požar, G. Horvat, V. Stilinović, T. Hrenar, V. Tomišić, Enhancing the Cation-Binding Ability of Fluorescent Calixarene Derivatives: Structural, Thermodynamic, and Computational Studies, ACS Omega 2023, 8, 43074−43087.
4. A. Usenik, M. Alešković, S. Roca, I. Markuš, M. Šekutor, J. Požar, Hosting of diamantane alcohols in water and hydrogen-bonded organic solvents: the (non-)classical hydrophobic effect, New J. Chem. 2023, 47, 18745−18755.
5. A. Usenik, K. Leko, V. Petrović Peroković, Ž. Car, R. Ribić, K. Pičuljan, M. Hanževački, J. Draženović, J. Požar, Hydrophobically driven hosting – What about the guest?, J. Mol. Liq. 2023, 388, 122774.
6. J. Požar, M. Cvetnić, A. Usenik, N. Cindro, G. Horvat, K. Leko, M. Modrušan, V. Tomišić, The Role of Triazole and Glucose Moieties in Alkali Metal Cation Complexation by Lower-Rim Tertiary-Amide Calix[4]arene Derivatives, Molecules 2022, 27, 470.
7. V. Petrović Peroković, Ž. Car, A. Usenik, T. Opačak-Bernardi, A. Jurić, S. Tomić, Adamantyl pyran-4-one derivatives and their in vitro antiproliferative activity, Mol Divers 2020, 24, 253–263.
Croatian Chemical Society (member since 2014)
American Chemical Society (member since 2023)
European Young Chemists' Network (EYCN) Delegate (Croatian Representative) (since 2024)
CAS Young Scientist (od 2024.)
2024 − now - researcher on the Croatian Science Foundation project Thermodynamic, spectroscopic, and structural aspects of calixarene coordination reactions (CalixCORE)
2020 − 2024 - researcher on the Croatian Science Foundation project Coordination Reactions of Macrocyclic Ligands in Solution (MacroSol)
2019 − 2020 - Expert Associate on the project Fizikalno-kemijska karakterizacija lijekova u otopini (Xellia, PI Prof Vladislav Tomišić)
2020 − Assistant
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