Dr. Ivona Aksentijevich is an Associate Investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), in Bethesda, USA. She earned her medical degree from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and is board-certified in Clinical Molecular Genetics.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Aksentijevich has played an important role in the discovery and molecular characterization of 13 monogenic autoinflammatory diseases. She was first co-author of the landmark 1999 Cell publication that introduced the concept of autoinflammatory diseases, defining a new class of disorders driven by dysregulation of the innate immune system. Dr. Aksentijevich has authored more than 230 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in leading scientific and medical journals. 

She has served as President of the International Society for Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases and remains an active leader in the international immunology and genetics communities.