Prof. Dragan Primorac, M.D., Ph.D.

Prof. Dragan Primorac, M.D., Ph.D. is a pediatrician, subspecialist in medical genetics, and a permanent court-appointed expert witness. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of introducing an integrated approach to personalized medicine into clinical practice. According to data from Elsevier BV, one of the world’s leading academic publishers, and based on standardized citation metrics developed by Stanford University, he is ranked among the top 2% of the most influential scientists in the world according to overall career scientific impact. He is the first holder of the title “Global Penn State Ambassador” in the history of the University, founded in 1855. He is a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Penn State University, and the University of New Haven in the USA, as well as at the medical schools of the Universities of Split, Osijek, and Rijeka in Croatia. By decision of India’s national-importance university, the National Forensic Science University, he was elected Professor Emeritus as the first European to receive this distinction.

He is the President of the International Society of Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS), one of the most prestigious international scientific organizations in the field of personalized medicine, whose activities include the participation of five Nobel Prize laureates. He is also the President of the International Regenerative Medicine Experts Society (IARMES), one of the world’s leading organizations in regenerative medicine. He serves as the President of the Board of Directors of St. Catherine Specialty Hospital, President of the Croatian Society for Human Genetics, and is the Founder and President of the Croatian Society for Personalized Medicine. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Forensic Science Foundation at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the world’s leading forensic organization. In cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, he is a co-founder of the Croatian UPMC Oncology Center.

He has published approximately 400 scientific papers and conference proceedings, as well as around 30 books and book chapters, and his work has been cited more than 11,000 times (Google Scholar). He has been an invited speaker at more than 150 international conferences, and his research has been published in the world’s most prestigious scientific journals, including Science and Nature. During his academic career, he has supervised more than 20 PhD candidates.

In recognition of his exceptional international reputation and contributions to the development of science, he has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Mostar (2022), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek (2023), and the University North (2025).

His particular scientific interest and outstanding contribution are in the fields of regenerative medicine and cell therapy. In 2017, his research team was the first to demonstrate the molecular effect of microfragmented adipose tissue containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on hyaline cartilage regeneration, using the delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) method. In 2018, in cooperation with OneOme (founded by the Mayo Clinic), he launched the first systematic introduction of pharmacogenomic testing into clinical practice. In 2020, as President of the Medical Commission of the Croatian Football Federation, in cooperation with colleagues from the USA, he introduced the analysis of 294 genes associated with sudden cardiac death in athletes for preventive purposes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led a team of physicians and scientists that was among the first in the world to successfully apply mesenchymal stromal cells in the treatment of a patient with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome. In September 2024, together with his team, he conducted the first whole-genome analysis in the Republic of Croatia, and shortly thereafter, in collaboration with scientists from the renowned American Dartmouth University, he became among the world’s first to introduce routine whole human genome analysis with interpretation into clinical practice. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer of forensic DNA analysis for the identification of victims from mass graves, and he is also the author of the first studies analyzing the Y chromosome for the purpose of investigating population origins.

Under his leadership, in cooperation with the Mayo Clinic, scientific conferences in the field of personalized medicine have been organized in Croatia for 22 consecutive years, with participation to date of more than 6,000 scientists from 76 countries and 800 invited lecturers, including ten Nobel Prize laureates. He is the founder of the “Nobel Spirit” initiative, which every two years brings together Nobel Prize winners and the world’s most outstanding young scientists to discuss topics of global importance, including new advances in biomedical sciences, the importance of personalized medicine in clinical practice, as well as innovation and new technologies in the economy.

He is the recipient of more than 20 international awards and distinctions. For his contribution to the development of sport, he received the Silver Plaque of the European Olympic Committees in 2004. He holds the honorary rank of 7th Dan Black Belt (World Taekwondo Europe), and in 2015 he was inducted into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame in the USA. In October 2020, he was elected a member of the Council of the Croatian Olympic Committee, and shortly thereafter appointed Vice President of the Croatian Taekwondo Federation. He served as President of the Medical Commission of the Croatian Football Federation, and currently holds the position of Advisor to the President of the Croatian Football Federation for Health and Science. He is serving his second term as a member of the Medical Commission of the Croatian Olympic Committee, and since 2024 has served as President of the Medical Commission of the Croatian Volleyball Federation and as a member of the Medical Commission of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). In June 2025, he was elected for a second term (2025–2029) as a member of the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission of the European Olympic Committees.