Snezana Kusljic

Snezana Kusljic is an Associate Professor in Pharmacology and Science Portfolio Lead in the Department of Nursing, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She holds a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Melbourne (2005), with a thesis titled 'Exploring the Role of Brain Serotonin Activity in Rat Behavioural Models of Schizophrenia: Lesion studies,' and a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology from the same university (2002). Earlier, she studied medicine at Tuzla University in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 to 1992. Her career includes serving as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne since January 2008, Research Fellow at Monash University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences from March 2006 to July 2008, and Post-doctoral Research Officer at the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria from June 2005 to January 2006. Since 2008, she has coordinated and lectured in bioscience and pharmacology courses, including Nursing Science 1 (Physiology), Nursing Science 2 and 3 (Pathophysiology), and Psychopharmacology for the Master of Nursing Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Practice, Mental Health programs. She leads in pharmacology education, integrating pharmacogenomics into curricula to enhance patient safety and mental health nursing care.

Her research focuses on pharmacology, medication safety, neuropsychopharmacology, pharmacogenomics, patient safety in nursing, sedation practices, HIV medication adherence, and corticosteroid-induced disturbances. Notable publications include 'Interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings: a systematic review' (Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 2020, 208 citations), 'Medication adherence in pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus receiving antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review' (BMC Public Health, 2018, 139 citations), 'Importance of animal models in schizophrenia research' (Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2005, 134 citations), 'Serotonin depletion in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus: effects on locomotor hyperactivity, prepulse inhibition and learning and memory' (Neuropharmacology, 2008, 86 citations), and 'Differential role of serotonergic projections arising from the dorsal and median raphe nuclei in locomotor hyperactivity and prepulse inhibition' (Neuropsychopharmacology, 2003, 53 citations). Kusljic has garnered over 1,297 citations on Google Scholar. Awards include the 2019 MDHS Award for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching, 2024 Dean's Education Innovation Grant, G.E.M. Scott Grant for teaching excellence (2010), ASCEPT New Investigator Travel Award (2007), and Early Career Researcher Grant ($40,000, 2009). She has supervised PhD and Honours students, presented at conferences like the Society for Neuroscience and World Congress on Pharmacology, served on ethics committees, and contributed book chapters such as 'Serotonin in Stress' (Encyclopedia of Stress, 2007).

Professional Email: skusljic@unimelb.edu.au