Professor Emeritus Danica Agbaba, PhD, full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, passed away on December 4, 2024. Professor Danica Agbaba was a well-known and esteemed researcher, but above all, she was a respected Faculty member, an excellent lecturer and pedagogue, and a wonderful colleague and friend.

Professor Dr. Danica Agbaba was born in 1953 in Zemun, Serbia, where she completed her primary and secondary education. She enrolled in the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Belgrade in 1972 and graduated in 1976. She began her career as a junior associate in the pharmaceutical company Galenika, Department of Control, from 1977 to 1981. Danica started her academic career at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Belgrade in 1981, when she was appointed as an assistant at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She defended her master’s thesis, “Determination of Conjugated Estrogens” in 1980. She defended her doctoral dissertation titled “Pharmacokinetics of Theophylline in Children Based on Monitoring Drug Excretion in Saliva and Urine” at the same Faculty in 1987. She passed her specialist exam in Drug Testing and Control in 1990. Danica Agbaba was appointed assistant professor in 1989, associate professor in 1994, and in 1999, she was appointed full professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. Finally, after retiring in 2019, Professor Agbaba was appointed Professor Emeritus at the University of Belgrade.

Professor Agbaba was very actively involved not only in teaching at the Faculty but also in innovating course content. She participated in the organization and delivery of courses in integrated academic studies for all study programs at the Faculty of Pharmacy, in subjects such as Pharmaceutical Chemistry 1, 2, and 3. It should be emphasized that she initiated not only course content innovations but also actively organized a course on the elective subject “Selected Chapters in Medicinal Chemistry.” In addition, she was involved in delivering courses in Drug Testing and Control for healthcare workers as part of specialized academic studies and as well as additional corse in the program “Medicine Marketing Authorization” within specialized academic studies. Furthermore, her engagement in doctoral academic studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences stands out as especially noteworthy. Professor Agbaba was a long-term head of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry module. Professor Agbaba mentored 63 undergraduate theses, 21 specialist theses, five master’s theses, and eight doctoral dissertations. Although retired, she continued her scientific work. Unfortunately, her premature death prevented her from seeing two additional completed PhD dissertations she was mentoring at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

It is also important to note that, in addition to her work at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Professor Agbaba shared her knowledge selflessly with students outside of Serbia. Since 1997, as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy in Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, she taught Pharmaceutical Chemistry 2. Over six academic years since 2004 she served as an invited professor delivering a course on Selected Chapters in Medicinal Chemistry for students in the Medicinal Chemistry group at the Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. She was also appointed a visiting professor at the same Institute.

Professor Agbaba’s extensive involvement in teaching did not prevent her from being an excellent researcher with a global perspective. She was fully aware of the importance of collaboration and further education at international institutions. Her international experiences, including those gained at the Drug Control and Teaching Center, King’s College, University of London, United Kingdom (1985–1986), and the Analytical Division, Center for Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands (1990), enriched her research and teaching. She actively participated in the two-week 5th School on Medicinal Chemistry at Leiden University/Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1996), further expanding her international network and knowledge.

From 1985 to 1990 as well as 1991 to 1996, and 1996 to 2000, Danica Agbaba participated as a researcher in projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia. These projects focused on researching synthetic and natural products, their chemical transformation, and their biological activity. Between 2002 and 2019, she led projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia related to molecular structure research, physicochemical characterization, pharmaceutical purity, and analysis of pharmacologically active substances.

Professor Agbaba’s leadership roles in various projects demonstrated her influence and impact. Danica led bilateral projects between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Slovenia together with Irena Vovk, PhD from Slovenia, in the periods from 2004 to 2005 and 2008 to 2010. These projects were focused on the development of new analytical and physicochemical methods for characterizing pharmaceutical substances and new methods for analyzing food supplements. Her leadership and expertise were instrumental in the success of these projects, leaving a lasting impact on the field of pharmaceutical sciences.

Professor Agbaba’s influence extended to several international FP7/COST projects, where she collaborated with peers from around the world. Her contributions to these projects further solidified her reputation as a leader in the field.

1.

FP7/COST – European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research: “Free Radicals in Chemical Biology (CHEMBIORADICAL) “(2008–2011).

2.

FP7/COST – European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research: “Structure-based drug design for diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases: dissecting and modulating complex function in the monoaminergic systems of the brain.” (2011–2015).

3.

FP7/COST – European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research: GLISTEN: GPCR-Ligand Interactions, Structures, and Transmembrane Signaling (2013–2017).

Since 2002 Professor Danica Agbaba served as a permanent member of the Scientific Committee for the annual chromatographic symposium “Chromatographic Methods of Investigating Organic Compounds” organized by the University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland, and since 2017 she was an honorary member. She was also a member of the Scientific Committee for the international symposium “Planar Chromatography Today 2002,” and the “4th Slovenian Symposium on Separation Techniques” that were both held in October 2002 in Novo mesto, Slovenia. In 2022 she became a permanent member of the HPTLC Scientific Committee. She was also a member of the Scientific Committee for the 25th International Symposium for High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC 2022) held in June/July 2022 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the 26th International Symposium for High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC 2024) held in September 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.

Her scientific work is impressive. According to the SCOPUS database, she published 177 papers cited 2,821 times, and her H-index was 27 as of June 2025. She also published six book chapters with renowned international publishers. She reviewed 12 books, five international projects, and two doctoral theses defended in India.

Professor Agbaba was the editor of the journal Archives of Pharmacy (2002–2004) and since 2008 she served as the editor of Acta Chromatographica. In 2010 and 2011, she was the guest editor for special sections in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. She was a member of the Journal of Planar Chromatography–Modern TLC (JPC) editorial board and a guest editor of a special issue of this journal in 2024.

Throughout her long career at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Professor Agbaba held significant roles in the organization of teaching and faculty management. From 1996 to 1998, she was Vice Dean for Teaching, and from 1998 to 2001, she was Vice Dean for Science and Postgraduate Studies. She was a member of the Faculty Council and was elected President of the Faculty Council in 2007. She has also participated in several student admission committees and has been Chair of the Postgraduate Studies Committee for Doctoral Studies since 2013.

Additionally, she was actively involved in various University of Belgrade bodies. From 2002 to 2011, she was a member of the Expert Council for Medical Sciences, and in 2003, she was elected to the Chemistry Committee. She was also a member of the Federal Commission for Drug Registration (1997) and, since 2005, the Commission for the Marketing Authorization of Medicinal Products at the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices.

Professor Agbaba received a special award from the Pharmaceutical Associations of Serbia for her outstanding contribution to its work and for her contribution to the development of pharmaceutical sciences.

Our profession has lost Professor Danica Agbaba, our Dana, an outstanding professor, scientist, and friend. She once said that she knew she would be a professor from a young age. Good and friendly relationships were the most important thing in her life. She advised her younger colleagues to engage in what they love, and that only persistence and perseverance would lead to success. She told her students to aim to be great pharmacists, not small doctors. Such was our friend and professor, Danica Agbaba. We will cherish our memories with her, and we will remember her for her achievements, unwavering dedication and a brilliant sense of humor.

Irena Vovk, Mieczysław Sajewicz and Zivoslav Tesic