Tolić Iva, F.C.A.
Tolić Iva, F.C.A.
Academic titles:
- professor
Institutions:
- Division of Molecular Biology, Laboratory of Cell Biophysics, Ruđer Bošković Institute
Membership in Academy:
- full member – Department of Natural Sciences (05/21/2026-…)
- associate member – Department of Natural Sciences (11/16/2020 – 05/21/2026)
Curriculum Vitae
Iva Tolić is a Full Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Head of the Cell Biophysics Laboratory at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. She earned her degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Zagreb and completed her PhD research jointly at Harvard University and the University of Zagreb, followed by postdoctoral training in Copenhagen and Florence. From 2004 to 2014, she led a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden. In 2015, she returned to her hometown of Zagreb. She has established an international reputation through a series of fundamental discoveries of the biophysical principles underlying cell division. She is the author of more than 110 scientific publications in leading journals, including Nature and Science, which have attracted more than 10,000 citations, and has supervised 25 PhD students. She was elected a member of Academia Europaea and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). Her awards include the Ignaz Lieben Prize, the Order of Danica Hrvatska, the Croatian State Award for Science, and numerous other distinctions. She has delivered more than 200 invited lectures worldwide and has led over 15 competitive research projects, including two prestigious grants from the European Research Council (ERC).
Education
2002 PhD, Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, Croatia; supervisor: Nenad Trinajstić
1996 Diploma, Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Current position
2021 – now Head of Laboratory for Cell Biophysics, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Previous positions
2014 – 2021 Senior Research Group Leader and Full Professor
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
2010 – 2014 Senior Research Group Leader, W2 (equivalent to Associate Professor)
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
2004 – 2009 Research Group Leader, W1 (equivalent to Assistant Professor)
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
2003 – 2004 Postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Francesco Pavone
LENS – European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, Florence, Italy
2001 – 2002 Postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Lene Oddershede and Prof. Kirstine Berg-Sørensen
Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
1999 – 2001 Visiting PhD student with Prof. Ning Wang
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
1996 – 1999 Research assistant in the group of Prof. Nenad Trinajstić
Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Awards, honors, elected academy memberships
2026 Elected member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
2022 Elected member of Academia Europaea
2018 Elected EMBO member
2018 Outstanding Paper Award in the category Life Sciences, European Microscopy Society
2017 Ignaz L. Lieben Award of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
2017 Award “Didak” for science, Croatia
2017 Award for an outstanding contribution to the development of molecular life sciences, Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2017 – 2026 9 annual awards for outstanding scientific papers, Ruđer Bošković Institute
2016 National Science Award of the Republic of Croatia
2016 Croatian Women of Influence Award
2015 Special award of the Ruđer Bošković Institute for outstanding contribution to the scientific excellence and international recognition of the institute, Croatia
2015 European Biophysical Societies Association EBSA Young Investigators’ Medal and Prize
2014 MRAK award for creativity in science, Croatia
2014 Order of Danica Hrvatska for science, outstanding contributions to science and its promotion in the Republic of Croatia and the world
2014 European Life Science Award in the category Investigator of the Year
2014 Chosen by the journal Cell as one of 40 scientists from around the world and working in diverse biological fields, “40 under 40”
Publications and citations:
- over 110 original publications in scientific journals including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Cell Biology, and Nature Communications
- 16 invited reviews
- more than 10,000 citations according to Google Scholar (h-index 45)
Ten selected original scientific articles:
- Gudlin L., K. Vukušić, M. Novak, M. Trupinić, M. Ljulj, I. Dundović, A. Petelinec, L. Petrušić, A. Hertel, T. van Ravesteyn, M. Trakala, G.J.P.L. Kops, Z. Storchová, J. Tambača, N. Pavin, I.M. Tolić (2026) Power-law scaling of mitotic spindles with genome sizes across eukaryotes is driven by chromosome crowding. Nat Cell Biol, in press.
- Koprivec I., V. Štimac, M. Đura, K. Vukušić, P. Mikec, I.M. Tolić (2026) Polar chromosomes are rescued from missegregation by spindle elongation-driven microtubule pivoting. Nat Commun 17: 2049.
- Vukušić K., I.M. Tolić (2025) CENP-E initiates chromosome congression by opposing Aurora kinases to promote end-on attachments. Nat Commun, 16: 8537.
- Vukušić K., I.M. Tolić (2025) Kinetochore-centrosome feedback linking CENP-E and Aurora kinases controls chromosome congression. Nat Commun, 16: 9097.
- Risteski, P., J. Martinčić, E.Tintor, M. Jagrić, A. Petelinec, I.M. Tolić (2024) Microtubule poleward flux as a target for modifying chromosome segregation errors. PNAS USA, 121 (47) e2405015121.
- Matković, J., S. Ghosh, M. Ćosić, S. Eibes, M. Barišić, N. Pavin, I. M. Tolić. (2022) Kinetochore- and chromosome-driven transition of microtubules into bundles promotes spindle assembly. Nat Commun, 13:7307
- Klaasen, S.J., M.Y. Truong, R.H. van Jaarsveld, I. Koprivec, V. Štimac, S. de Vries, P. Risteski, S. Kodba, K. Vukušić, K. de Luca, JF. Marques, E.M. Gerrits, B. Bakker, F. Foijer, J. Kind, I.M. Tolić, S. Lens, G.J.P.L Kops. (2022) Nuclear chromosome locations dictate segregation error frequencies. Nature, 607:604-609.
- Kajtez, J., A. Solomatina, M. Novak, B. Polak, K. Vukušić, J. Rüdiger, G. Cojoc, A. Milas, I. Šumanovac Šestak, P. Risteski, F. Tavano, A.H. Klemm, E. Roscioli, J. Welburn, D. Cimini, M. Glunčić, N. Pavin, I.M. Tolić. (2016) Overlap microtubules link sister k-fibers and balance the forces on bioriented kinetochores. Nat Commun, 7:10298.
- Ananthanarayanan, V., M. Schattat, S.K. Vogel, A. Krull, N. Pavin, I.M. Tolić- Nørrelykke. (2013) Dynein motion switches from diffusive to directed upon cortical anchoring. Cell, 153(7):1526-1536.
- Kalinina, I., A. Nandi, P. Delivani, M.R. Chacón, A.H. Klemm, D. Ramunno-Johnson, A. Krull, B. Lindner, N. Pavin, I.M. Tolić-Nørrelykke. (2013) Pivoting of microtubules around the spindle pole accelerates kinetochore capture. Nat Cell Biol, 15(1):82-87.
Career grants
2020 – 2026 ERC Synergy Grant (corresponding PI): Molecular origins of aneuploidies in healthy and
diseased human tissues.
2015 – 2020 ERC Consolidator Grant: A new class of microtubules in the spindle exerting forces on
kinetochores.
Other competitive research grants: 5 from the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ), 6 from the German Research Foundation (DFG), and 4 from other agencies.
Invited talks at leading conferences and research institutes (~200 talks):
Keynote talks
2025 FASEB conference Cytoskeletal Structure, Dynamics, and Function, Southbridge, MA, USA
2025 4th MOSBRI Scientific Conference, Paris, France
2023 15th Meeting of the Slovenian Biochemical Society, Portorož, Slovenia
2023 The International Dictyostelium meeting 2023, Opatija, Croatia
2021 The Paris Cytoskeleton Day, Paris, France (virtual)
2021 Physics Meets Biology 2021, Oxford, United Kingdom (virtual)
Plenary talks
2022 6th Meeting of the Croatian Association for Cancer Research (CACR), Zagreb, Croatia
2021 13th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology
(ÖGMBT), Vienna, Austria (virtual)
2019 Congress of the Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (HDBMB) Crossroads
in Life Sciences, Lovran, Croatia
2019 Symposium talk at the ASCB|EMBO Meeting 2019, Washington, USA
2015 12th Multinational Congress on Microscopy, Eger, Hungary
2015 10th EBSA European Biophysics Congress, Dresden, Germany
Invited talks at established conferences and workshops (selection)
2026 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting 2026, San Francisco, USA
2025 EMBO Workshop Chromosome Segregation and Aneuploidy, Stresa, Italy
2024 EMBO|FEBS Lecture Course Molecular mechanisms in signal transduction and cancer, Spetses, Greece
2024 EMBO Workshop Dynamic kinetochore, Caux, Switzerland
2024 EMBO|EMBL Symposium The mechanics of life: from development to disease, Heidelberg, Germany
2023 EMBO Workshop Physics of living systems: From physical principles to biological function, Dresden, Germany
2022 EMBO Workshop The cell cycle: One engine – many cycles, Konstanz, Germany
2022 EMBO Workshop Dynamic kinetochore, Oslo, Norway
2022 EMBO|EMBL Symposium Microtubules: from atoms to complex systems, Heidelberg, Germany
2022 EMBO Workshop: Chromosome segregation and aneuploidy, Vienna, Austria
2021 Cell Bio Virtual 2021, ASCB | EMBO Meeting, USA (virtual)
2021 The Biophysical Society 65nd Annual Meeting, USA (virtual)
2019 EMBO Workshop on Meiosis, La Rochelle, France
2019 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Stochastic Physics in Biology, Ventura, CA, USA
2018 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Meiosis, New London, NH, USA
2018 Biophysical Society 62nd Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA
2017 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Motile and Contractile Systems, New London, NH, USA
2017 Jacques Monod Conference Actin and microtubule cytoskeleton, Roscoff, France
2014 The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2012 Biophysical Society 56th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA
2012 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Plant and Microbial Cytoskeleton, Andover, NH, USA
Invited seminars at research institutes and universities (selection)
Harvard (Cambridge, MA, USA), California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA, USA), Curie Institute (Paris, France), ETH Zürich (Switzerland), University of Geneva (Switzerland), Utrecht University (Netherlands), Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology (Tübingen, Germany), MRC Clinical Sciences Centre (London, UK), MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK) etc.
Panel memberships and peer reviewing
2020 – now Member of the ERC Starting Grants Panel (2020, 2023, 2025)
2022 – now Member of the Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grants Panel
2023 – 2024 Member of the Wellcome Discovery Award Interview Panel
2020 Jury member for the National Fund for Scientific Research Quinquennial Prize, Belgium
2018 – now Member of the Advisory Editorial Board of Life Science Alliance
2017 Member of the German Science Foundation Panel for Collaborative Research Centers
2005 – now Peer reviewer for journals: Nature, Science, Nature Cell Biology, PNAS USA, Current Biology, eLife, Molecular Biology of the Cell, EMBO Journal etc.
2005 – now Reviewer for funding agencies: ERC, Swiss National Science Foundation, Wellcome Foundation, German Research Foundation, Human Frontier Science Program etc.
Organization of scientific meetings
2019 – now Organizer, with Nenad Pavin, of the conference Mitotic Spindle: From Living and Synthetic Systems to Theory, Croatia (2019, 2021, 2023, 2026)
2025 Co-organizer of BioMatter: From Cytoskeleton to Embryo, Arolla, Switzerland
2021 Member of the International Scientific Committee of the 45th FEBS Congress Molecules of Life: Towards New Horizons, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2018 Minisymposium co-chair at the 2nd ASCB│EMBO Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA
2018 Symposium co-chair at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, San Francisco, CA, USA
2017 Organizer of the EMBO Conference on Meiosis, Hvar, Croatia
2017 Co-organizer of ELMI – 17th European Light Microscopy Initiative meeting, Dubrovnik, Croatia
2017 Member of the Program Committee and session chair at the 9th International Fission Yeast Meeting, Banff, Alberta, Canada
2016 Member of the International Advisory Committee for the conference From Solid State to Biophysics VIII, Cavtat, Croatia
2015 Member of the Organizing Committee for the EMBO Conference on Meiosis, Oxford, UK
2013 Member of the Program Committee and session co-chair at the EMBO Conference Pombe 2013, 7th International Fission Yeast Meeting, London, UK
2012, 2014 Member of the Program Committee for the 11th and 12th Greta Pifat Mrzljak International School of Biophysics, Primošten, Croatia
Mentoring: 25 PhD students, 14 post-doctoral researchers, 28 Bachelor’s or Master’s theses.