Dragana Nikolić, PhD, is a molecular biologist doing research in the field of plant molecular biology, with an emphasis on molecular mechanisms underlying plant stress responses. She obtained a graduation degree in Molecular Biology and Physiology in 2002 at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology. In her PhD dissertation, earned in 2010 at the same faculty, she investigated the regulation of buckwheat metallothionein type 3 gene expression and the protective role of MT3 protein in plant tissues under heavy metal stress. Her recent work is focused on the interactions between plants and plant growth-promoting bacteria. She was PI of the ExplOMV project within the IDEAS program of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (2021-2024). The project investigated bacterial outer membrane vesicles and their involvement in interkingdom communication between plants and plant beneficial bacteria. The project also involved the examination of both plant and bacterial small RNAs and their potential role in the regulation of plant-bacteria interactions. Dr. Nikolić is an active member of national and international scientific communities that foster collaboration among researchers investigating extracellular vesicles and extracellular small RNA.