doc. dr. Polona Maver Vodičar, dr. med., spec. klin. mikr.

Strokovna dejavnost

Vodja Laboratorija za diagnostiko aerobnih in anaerobnih infekcij

Pedagoška dejavnost

V. d. predstojnice Katedre za mikrobiologijo in imunologijo

Učiteljica, članica Katedre za mikrobiologijo in imunologijo

Raziskovalna dejavnost

Šifra raziskovalca: 36669

Bibliografija

• COBISS
• PubMed

Kratek življenjepis

Polona Maver Vodičar je zdravnica in specialistka klinične mikrobiologije na Inštitutu za mikrobiologijo in imunologijo Medicinske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani. Doktorirala je leta 2011 na temo genomske raznolikosti humanih virusov papiloma. Kot  specialistka klinične mikrobiologije je delala v Laboratoriju za molekularno mikrobiologijo in diagnostiko hepatitisov in aidsa, od leta 2020 pa je vodja Laboratorija za diagnostiko aerobnih in anaerobnih okužb. Njeno trenutno klinično in raziskovalno delo se osredotoča na bakterijske okužbe kože in mehkih tkiv, mišično-skeletne okužbe, okužbe kirurških mest, okužbe, povezane z vsadki, in diagnostiko Helicobacter pylori.

Je docentka na Katedri za mikrobiologijo in imunologijo MF UL, kjer predava na Medicinski fakulteti, Biotehniški fakulteti in Fakulteti za farmacijo. Ima certifikat opravljenega usposabljanja »Training to Teach in Medicine« ki ga organizira Harvard Medical School (2023–2024). V sklopu svojega pedagoškega dela je mentorica magistrskim in doktorskim študentom ter glavna mentorica specializantom klinične mikrobiologije. Poleg tega trenutno zaseda položaj nacionalne koordinatorice za specializacijo iz klinične mikrobiologije in zastopa Slovenijo v Sekciji za medicinsko mikrobiologijo UEMS ter aktivno sodeluje pri oblikovanju in pripravi evropskega izpita UEMS iz medicinske mikrobiologije. Z marcem 2026 je bila imenovana za v. d. predstojnice Katedre za mikrobiologijo in imunologijo Medicinske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani.

S 125 bibliografskimi enotami – vključno s 33 članki v revijah, indeksiranih v SCI, več kot 1000 citati in h-indeksom 14 – aktivno prispeva k znanstveni skupnosti.

Od leta 2011 je članica Evropskega združenja za klinično mikrobiologijo in infekcijske bolezni (ESCMID); v letu 2021 je prejela častni naziv »ESCMID Fellow«. V tem času je v združenju opravljala več vodstvenih vlog: bila je predsednica Združenja specializantov ESCMID (2013–2015) in članica odbora za strokovne zadeve ESCMID (2016–2022). Je tudi članica več drugih mednarodnih in slovenskih strokovnih združenj (Evropsko združenje za okužbe kosti in sklepov – EBJIS, Sekcija za klinično mikrobiologijo in bolnišnične okužbe, Slovensko društvo za medicinsko mikologijo).

Poleg medicine je zaključila študij na Akademiji za glasbo Univerze v Ljubljani (2005) in je klasično izobražena pianistka, kar ji še vedno pomaga pri natančnosti, potrpežljivosti, pa tudi pri prečkanju meja med disciplinami in iskanju manj očitnih povezav in vzorcev. Te lastnosti prenaša v svoje pedagoško delo, kjer spodbuja radovednost, ustvarjalnost pri oblikovanju pouka in odprt dialog med študenti in sodelavci.

Biography

Polona Maver Vodičar is a physician and specialist in clinical microbiology at the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana. She completed her PhD on the genomic diversity of human papillomavirus in 2011. She previously worked as a specialist in clinical microbiology in the Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology and Slovenian HIV/AIDS Reference Centre. Since 2020, she is Head of the Laboratory for Diagnostics of Aerobic and Anaerobic Infections, and her current clinical and research work focuses on bacterial infections of the skin and soft tissues, musculoskeletal and surgical site infections, implant-associated infections, and Helicobacter pylori diagnostics.

She is an Assistant Professor at the Academic Department of Microbiology and Immunology, where she lectures at the Faculty of Medicine, Biotechnical Faculty and Faculty of Pharmacy. She holds a certificate in Training to Teach in Medicine from Harvard Medical School (2023–2024). She supervises MSc and PhD students and is a mentor for Clinical Microbiology trainees. Moreover, she currently holds the position of National Coordinator for Specialization in Clinical Microbiology, and represents Slovenia in the UEMS Section of Medical Microbiology, being also actively involved in the design and preparation of the UEMS European Examination in Medical Microbiology. As of March 2026, she was appointed Acting Head of the Academic Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana.

With 125 bibliographic units — including 33 articles in SCI-indexed journals, more than 1,000 citations, and an h-index of 14 — she is an active contributor to the scientific community.

She has been a member of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) since 2011; in 2021 she was awarded the honorary title of “ESCMID Fellow”. During this time, she held several leadership roles within the society: she was President of the Trainee Association of ESCMID Steering Committee (2013–2015) and a member of the ESCMID Professional Affairs Subcommittee (2016–2022). She is also a member of several other international and Slovenian professional associations (European Bone and Joint Infection Society – EBJIS, Slovenian Society for Clinical Microbiology and Hospital Infections, Slovenian Society for Medical Mycology).

In addition to medicine, she is a classically trained pianist — a graduate of the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana (2005), which still helps her with precision, patience, as well as crossing boundaries between disciplines and finding less obvious connections and patterns. She transfers these qualities to her teaching, where she encourages curiosity, creativity in course design, and open dialogue among students and colleagues.