Jelena Brasanac

Dr Jelena Brasanac is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Her research explores how the immune system and the brain interact in mental health conditions, and how altered states of consciousness, such as those triggered by breathing techniques, might be harnessed for new treatments. She earned her PhD in Medical Neurosciences at Charité, studying stress and immune changes in multiple sclerosis-associated depression, after completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Molecular Biology at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is actively involved in supporting early-career researchers and currently chairs the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology’s Career Development Interest Group. Passionate about improving mental health in academia, she also co-founded Dragonfly Mental Health, a non-profit organisation supporting scientists worldwide.