Vice-Rectors Vice-Rector for Teaching

rof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska was born on February 22nd, 1965 in Skopje, where she completed her primary and secondary education. She enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje in the academic year 1983/84 and graduated in February 1989 with a grade point average of 9.73. In the same year, she enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje. Since January 1991, she has been employed at the Institute of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje. She completed her postgraduate studies with a grade point average of 10.00 and defended her master’s thesis in June 1997. In December 2002, she defended her doctoral dissertation.

Since 1993, Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska has been actively involved in delivering theoretical and practical instruction in the subjects of Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Clinical Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje. In 1993, she was initially was appointed a Teaching Assistant, then Assistant Professor in 2003, Associate Professor in 2008, and Full Professor in 2013.

From 2006 to 2009, she served as ECTS Coordinator for first and second-year medical students, while from 2005 to 2010 she served as Course Coordinator for Biochemistry for students at the Faculty of Dentistry.With the introduction of the ECTS system, she has been actively involved in teaching the following courses: Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry 1, Biochemistry 2, and Clinical Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine; Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Faculty of Dentistry; Clinical Biochemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; as well as Biochemistry and Diagnostic Methods within the three-year professional study programs at the Faculty of Medicine. Since the academic year 2011/12, she has been involved in teaching doctoral studies within the Doctoral School of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, in the field of Basic Medicine, teaching the course Methods and Characteristics of Basic Research. Since the 2021/22 academic year, she has also been responsible for organizing the course Methods in Scientific Research.

She is the author of two textbooks and seven student study guides.

She has served as a mentor to five doctoral graduates and is currently supervising two doctoral candidates, as well as 27 undergraduate theses. She is also supervising two specialist theses and several medical biochemistry residents. She has served as a member of 38 committees for the defense of undergraduate theses, as well as on committees for the evaluation and defense of numerous master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. She has also reviewed five university textbooks and four teaching aids.

Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska organizes, coordinates, and actively participates in the research activities of the Department of Medical and Experimental Biochemistry. Her research activities have resulted in more than 150 scientific papers published in national and international scientific journals and presented at scientific congresses in the country and abroad.

She has participated as a researcher in two international research projects and has served as the principal investigator of a national research project. She has also participated in eight national research projects.
n 1988, she undertook a professional training visit at the research laboratory of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas, USA. In 1994, she completed a professional training visit at the Central Clinical Laboratory of Birmingham Hospital in Birmingham, England.

Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska is a member of the Macedonian Medical Association, the Medical Chamber of North Macedonia, the Association of Medical Biochemistry Specialists of North Macedonia, the Balkan Clinical Laboratory Federation (BCLF), the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), and the FEBS Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Medical Faculty’s scientific journal, Academic Medical Journal, and has served as a reviewer for numerous scientific papers published in national journals, including Physioacta and Prilozi, as well as for scientific papers submitted to international journals, including the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis and QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. She served as the scientific editor of the translation of the textbook General, Organic, and Biochemistry by Catherine Deniston, Joseph Topping, and Robert Caret.

A significant part of Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska’s daily professional activities involves the specialized laboratory work carried out at the Institute of Biochemistry. She completed her specialization in Medical Biochemistry in 1995.

Her research interests focus on electrophoretic methods for the separation of biomolecules, and her professional and scientific training has been oriented accordingly. This work has resulted in the introduction of two new methods: electrophoretic separation and quantification of creatine kinase isoenzymes, as well as gradient gel electrophoresis techniques for the separation of LDL and HDL subclasses.

She has received several awards and distinctions from the Macedonian Medical Association, including a Certificate of Merit for Contributions to Healthcare in 2003, a Diploma for Achievements in 2008, and, in 2019, the highest distinction awarded by the Association for outstanding achievements in her profession, healthcare, and professional work—the Trifun Panovski Charter.

She served as a member of the Commission for the Professional Examination for Expert Witnesses in the field of Biochemistry at the Ministry of Justice, as well as a member of the Commission at the Ministry of Health responsible for assessing the requirements that healthcare institutions must meet in order to obtain authorization to provide training for medical residents.

From April 2009 to September 2016, Prof. Dr. Sonja Topuzovska served as Vice-Dean for Teaching and was a member of the Faculty Management Board of the Faculty of Medicine. From 2008 to the present, she has served as a member and chair of numerous committees and bodies of the Faculty of Medicine, including the Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects, the Scientific Board, the Teaching Board, which she chaired, the Personnel Board, and the Admissions Committee, as well as various other committees and bodies of the Faculty. In these capacities, she also participated in drafting the Faculty of Medicine’s internal regulations and other institutional acts.

From 2009 to 2013, Dr. Sonja Topuzovska served as a member of the Finance Committee of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. Since 2009, she has been a member of the Expert Council for Doctoral Studies at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. From 2014 to 2016, she served as Chair of the University Self-Evaluation Committee of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.

From 2016 to 2023, she served two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje. During her seven-year tenure, she contributed significantly to the development and advancement of the Faculty’s teaching, scientific research, healthcare, and applied activities.During this period, nine new study programs were accredited, and a new scientific journal, Academic Medical Journal, was established. A total of 34 scientific research projects were funded and implemented, while 32 additional projects were initiated. The contractual funding provided by the Health Insurance Fund was significantly increased, and several new healthcare services were introduced. State-of-the-art equipment was procured for the Faculty’s laboratories, investments were made in expanding office and laboratory facilities, and working conditions for employees were improved.

From 2023 to 2026, she served as Vice-Rector for Teaching at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.