A special report from one of the EACR’s affiliated national societies.
About the SDIR
The Serbian Association for Cancer Research (SDIR) was founded in Belgrade in November 2010 and currently has 262 members. SDIR’s Head Office is located at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia. SDIR is a non-profit organization that aims to achieve goals in the field of oncology. SDIR regularly organizes biennial congresses in English, open to an international audience, and has recently initiated various activities that contribute to a better collaboration between members, promote excellence in cancer research, and raise public awareness of cancer research.
SDIR Activities (October 2023 – March 2025)
SDIR-6 Congress
SDIR-6 Congress “From Collaboration to Innovation in Cancer Research” was held in the period from 02-04.10.2023 in the Royal Inn Hotel in Belgrade, with presence of EACR President Prof. René Bernards and member of the EACR Board Prof. Chiara Ambrogio, as plenary lecturers. Representatives of national and regional societies affiliated to EACR: HDIR (Croatia) and MOKAD (Turkey) presented their research capacities during session dedicated to the scientific cooperation of the societies. During the congress, prizes were awarded to researchers for the best scientific publications, as well as to presenters of the best abstracts.
Top row from left to right: Prof. Rene Bernards; Prof. Chiara Ambrogio; Prof. Chiara Ambrogio, Dr Milena Cavic (SDIR president), Andrew Binns (EACR Membership Manager). Second row from left to right: Members of the SDIR-6 Organising Committee: Dr Jelena Spasic, Dr Mladen Marinkovic. Dr Marina Popovic Krneta, Dr Marija Djordjic Crnogorac, Aleksandra Stanojevic, Prof. Dr Katarina Zeljic, Dr Ana Damjanovic Velickovic, Dr Ivana Matic, Dr Ana Djuric, Dr Jelena Grahovac; Prof. Dr Katarina Zeljic (Chair of the SDIR-6 organising committee) and Dr Milena Cavic (SDIR president).
124 participants attended the SDIR-6 congress, including speakers. The event brought together Serbian cancer researchers alongside colleagues from 13 European countries and South America. One of the highlights was the launch of the SDIR PhD Students Section, designed to engage and connect young cancer researchers. Additionally, for the first time, the SDIR Board awarded a prize for the best poster in the PhD student category.
SDIR official journal Oncology Insights officially launched
The official journal of the society, Oncology Insights, was launched, and the abstracts from the SDIR-6 congress were published in the inaugural issue, available in both electronic and printed formats. You can explore the journal here: Oncology Insights. We look forward to receiving your valuable research contributions to our journal!
SDIR in media
The SDIR-6 received more support from the Serbian media, both on radio and national television and in interviews. Prior to SDIR-6, Prof. Rene Bernards gave an interview to the Center for the Promotion of Science (Interview – Prof. Rene Bernards). Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) broadcasted a video of the congress and a short interview with the congress speakers. Members of the organizing and scientific committee were guests on RTS and Radio Belgrade 2 broadcast “Hocu da znam” (eng. “I want to know”) dedicated to science. All this has significantly raised the visibility of the congress not only in the scientific community of Serbia, but also in the general population of our country, which has recognized the importance of cancer research and science.
Above: SDIR board members in media.
From left to right: Prof. Dr Katarina Zeljic and Dr Milica Pesic (SDIR vice president) – TV scientific broadcast “Naucni portal” at the National TV RTS; Dr Radmila Jankovic and Dr Ana Krivokuca interview for the TV scientific broadcast “Naucni portal” at the National TV RTS. Video is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sunjz86FDA&t=924s
SDIR seminars
In February 2024, SDIR hosted a special hybrid seminar focused on the tumor microenvironment, featuring speakers Andrei Turtoi from the Université de Montpellier and Roberto Ronca from the University of Brescia.
SDIR on the move for the promotion of science
The SDIR’s members recognize the importance of advancing science and raising public awareness about cancer. SDIR is dedicated to promoting scientific knowledge to the general public. On the National Day of Science, held on July 13, 2024, at the University Botanical Garden “Jevremovac” in Belgrade, SDIR was represented through the exhibition “Science to Fight Cancer.”
During the three-day Science Festival with international participation, held from December 12 to 14, 2024 at Belgrade fair, SDIR members also participated with the exhibition “Science to New Hope in the Fight Against Malignant Diseases.” The festival attracted 20 000 visitors. Thank to endless enthusiasm of members of our PhD students section, SDIR will continue its efforts to promote science and cancer research in the country.
SDIR annual prize
In order to promote and stimulate scientific research and professional advancement of SDIR members, in 2023, SDIR launched a first initiative for awarding annual prize for most worthy scientific publications in the field of cancer research to its members. The selection procedure was competitive and performed by an independent scientific committee.
For more information visit: SDIR annual awards
SDIR awards for the best publications in 2023 were received by Dr Sofija Jovanovic Stojanov and Marija Ostojic, PhD student.
SDIR Scientific Days
The initiative established in 2022, SDIR Scientific Day, became traditional. The third SDIR Scientific Day meeting was held in April 25, at the University of Novi Sad in a hybrid format. For more information, please explore: SDIR Scientific Day.
Above: Opening ceremony and welcoming notes of the third SDIR Scientific days.
Collaboration with other societies
SDIR has signed collaboration agreements with various Serbian societies and is dedicated to increasing efforts for organizing joint meeting at the confluence on complementary expertise. On February 26, 2025, SDIR and the ESMO-affiliated Association of Medical Oncologists of Serbia (UMOS) organized the first UMOS-SDIR Colloquium on Liquid Biopsy in Oncology. The colloquium was a conversation between experts about liquid biopsy issues that are imposed by the constant advancement of cancer research and clinical oncology, and about solutions that are not yet in the corpus of recommendations nor a part of international and national clinical practice. Dr Remond Fijneman, from the Netherlands Cancer Institute delivered an ELBS-endorsed Plenary Lecture: “Circulating tumor DNA: innovative diagnostics to better determine who, how, and when to treat” supporting the meeting with a perspective from the Dutch national experience.
Meeting participants highlighted technological progress and outlined future steps in the more precise monitoring of the biology of malignant tumors and the response to treatment, using lung and colorectal cancer as models. As an outcome of the meeting, the directions of future joint activities were determined, in order to formulate a clear national strategy for the clinical application of liquid biopsy in oncology in Serbia.
SDIR on the web
In January 2025, SDIR launched a new website. Explore it at: https://english.sdir.ac.rs/.
SDIR is also active on social media platforms including Instagram (sdir.info), LinkedIn (Srpsko društvo istraživača raka – Serbian association for cancer research), X (SDIRinfo) and Facebook (Srpsko društvo istraživača raka/Serbian Association for Cancer Research). Follow us for the latest updates and news!
Looking ahead: Future activities in 2025
The PhD Students Section plans to continue its active involvement in cancer research and promotion of science. We plan to actively participate in events to promote science, such as National Science day, Researchers night and the Science Festival.
From October 8 to 10, 2025, the first SDIR-HDIR-MOKAD regional meeting co-organized by the Serbian, Croatian and Turkish national societies affiliated to EACR will take place in Belgrade, Serbia. We invite you to join us in the city at the crossroads of East and West, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, for an exciting convergence of cancer research, excellence, innovations and great atmosphere! https://english.sdir.ac.rs/the-1st-regional-sdir-hdir-mokad-congress/
The congress will feature renowned speakers and offer EACR and FEBS Open Bio sponsored prizes for best abstracts. We look forward to welcoming you to Belgrade!
About National Societies affiliated with the EACR
SDIR is one of the 14 national societies that have chosen to affiliate with the European Association for Cancer Research and give their members EACR membership at no extra cost to each member. Click here to find out more about these affiliated national societies.
