Makedonka Atanasovska Velkovska

When I found out about the nomination, I felt honoured.

One of the finalists representing Slovenia is Assist. Makedonka Atanasovska Velkovska, MD. She is a Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology (FEBO) and a specialist in ophthalmology. She was delighted to be nominated as a finalist as it validated her hard work in the field of Ophthalmology. She immediately shared the news with the rest of the research team.She has been interested in ophthalmology and working with glaucoma patients since she began her studies. 

Glaucoma is a progressive disease of the optic nerve that causes blindness in about 70 million people worldwide. In our study, we wanted to find out if there are biological indicators that can predict the development of glaucoma and its progression. Oxidative stress and inflammation are biological processes in the human body that influence the development of glaucoma. Therefore, we looked for possible biological indicators among variants in genes involved in these processes.

Assist. Makedonka Atanasovska Velkovska, MD, and her team identified two possible biological indicators in genes responsible for inflammation that could predict glaucoma risk. They also found two biological indicators in genes involved in oxidative stress that could predict a more severe form of glaucoma.