Portrait Luka Cicin-Sain
© HZI/Verena Meier
Prof. Luka Cicin-Sain
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Luka Cicin-Sain elected to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

International recognition for HZI virologist studying herpesviruses and innovative vaccines

The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti (HAZU)) has announced the election of 32 new members to its ranks. Among the newly elected corresponding members is Prof. Luka Čičin-Šain, head of the department “Viral Immunology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). Čičin-Šain studies how our immune system responds to widespread viruses and develops new vaccine technologies against viral diseases.

Čičin-Šain studied medicine and biomedicine in Rijeka, Croatia, and earned his Ph.D. there in 2006. He subsequently conducted research as a postdoc and research assistant professor in the United States. Since 2009, Čičin-Šain has been a research group leader at the HZI and has headed the department “Viral Immunology” since 2021. Together with his team, he investigates the mechanisms by which herpesviruses regulate latent infections and reactivations. Additionally, he is developing an innovative vaccine platform designed to generate a long-lasting immune response and, in the future, eliminate the need for booster shots. Čičin-Šain is also lead of International Relations at the HZI. “It is a great honor for me to have been elected to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts,” says Čičin-Šain. “I look forward to further deepening international collaboration.”

The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts was founded in 1861. It has 141 full members, 107 corresponding members who do not live or work in Croatia, and 81 associate members. The official induction into the Academy will take place on June 18, 2026, at a ceremony in Zagreb, Croatia.

Further Information: 

Website of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

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