Professor Ratko Djukanovic MD, DM, FRCP
Professor of Medicine, Director of the Southampton NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit,Director of the NIHR Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research

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Professor Ratko Djukanovic is Professor of Medicine within Medicine at the University of Southampton.
Professor Djukanovic was appointed Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton in 2004 and promoted to Professor of Medicine in 2011. He has held several senior positions at the University of Southampton, including Directorship of the Division of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity and he oversaw the merger of this Division with the Division of Clinical Neurosciences, forming the new Clinical and Experimental Sciences department.
Professor Djukanovic is the Director of the National Institute for Health Research Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit (NIHR RBRU) (www.uhs.nhs.uk/nihr-bru) and Director of the Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research (SCBR) (www.clinicalresearchinsouthampton.uhs.nhs.uk. He is also Chairman of the Steering Committee of the UK Translational Research Partnership in Inflammatory Respiratory Diseases supported by NIHR (http://www.nocri.nihr.ac.uk/resources/resources).
The Southampton NIHR RBRU unit was one of three Respiratory BRUs founded in 2008, receiving £6.55 million to support a programme of translational research in major respiratory diseases across the life-course. Together with additional funds from the Department of Health, the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Southampton enabled the creation of the SCBR, comprising 4,000 m2 of clinical and laboratory space dedicated to multidisciplinary translational research activities. The SCBR was opened by the Secretary of State for Health and the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies in March 2011.
Professor Djukanovic leads the Inflammatory Cell Biology Group, comprising both clinical and non-clinical scientists, including postgraduate students. The group focuses on the role of inflammatory cells (T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages and neutrophils) in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His team uses (bronchial and parenchymal) lung explant models to investigate inflammatory and remodelling mechanisms caused by allergens and viruses and applies these in proof of concept studies of novel drugs. Professor Djukanovic also heads the severe asthma biomarker discovery programme in Southampton using proteomic and lipidomic methods, largely funded by the U-BIOPRED (UnbiasedBIOmarkers for the Prediction of REspiratoryDisease Outcomes), a €22 million programme funded by the EU Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI)(http://www.ubiopred.european-lung-foundation.org/). Together with colleagues from the University of Amsterdam (Professor Peter Sterk) and Imperial College London (Professors Fan Chung and Ian Adcock), Professor Djukanovic is co-founder of U-BIOPRED.
Professor Djukanovic is an Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at the Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Potential students, post-doctoral scientists or clinician scientists who are interested in joining his group are encouraged to contact Professor Djukanovic.
Degree Qualifications
DM, University of Belgrade, 1978
Specialist in Internal Medicine, University of Belgrade, 1985
MSc Immunology, University of Belgrade, 1986
DM, University of Southampton, 1994
Appointments held
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade, 1988
Research Fellow, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, 1988-1991
Visiting Registrar, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, 1991-1992
Senior Clinical Research Fellow, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, 1992-1997
Senior Lecturer in Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, 1997-2004
Professor of Respiratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, 2004-present
Director of Allergy and Inflammation Research, Deputy Director, Division of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, 2005-2007
Director - Division of Infection Inflammation and Immunity, 2007- 2010
Head of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, 2010-2011
Professor of Medicine, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, 2011-present
Director of the NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, 2008-present
Director of the Southampton Centre for Biomedical Research, 2011-present