Professor Pedja Kovacevic
Professor Peđa Kovačević is a physician, intensivist, and academic leader from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with dual citizenship in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. He currently serves as Consultant and Head of the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at the University Clinical Centre of the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka. Since 2018, he has also been the Program and Curriculum Director for Critical Care at the University of Banja Luka, shaping national training pathways for future intensivists. In 2022, he was appointed National Coordinator for Intensive Care Medicine for the Republic of Srpska.
With an academic career spanning more than two decades, Professor Kovačević has held the rank of Associate Professor in Physiology and Intensive Care Medicine since 2007 across several universities, including the University of Banja Luka, University of East Sarajevo, University of Belgrade, and University of Rijeka. He previously served as Assistant Professor and researcher in respiratory physiology at the University of Banja Luka, where he also completed his master’s (MSc) and doctoral studies (PhD) in Respiratory Physiology.
Professor Kovačević received his medical degree from the University of Niš (Serbia) in 1999 and subsequently pursued specialization in Pulmonology and a Critical Care Fellowship between the University of Banja Luka and the University of Heidelberg (Germany). His fellowship examination board included internationally recognised experts from the Mayo Clinic (USA), Heidelberg (EU), and Croatia. Throughout his training and career, he pursued additional education at leading global institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, University Hospital Heidelberg, University Hospital Zurich, Erasme Hospital Brussels, and the Medical University of Vienna, and completed multiple advanced courses in echocardiography, ECMO, and critical care physiology.
A certified specialist in Pulmonology and Critical Care, Professor Kovačević is also a Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) Instructor for the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and participates actively in the international critical care education community. His commitment to developing the field has included mentoring 14 critical care fellows and supervising five PhD candidates.
His academic and clinical interests include respiratory physiology, bronchoscopy, mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal support, hemodynamics, neurocritical care, and intensive care education. He has led and coordinated numerous national and international projects, including initiatives supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Zoll Foundation, as well as multiple Tempus, Coimbra Group, and UICC projects. He has also engaged in cross-disciplinary humanitarian and psychosocial programmes during the post-war reconstruction period.
Professor Kovačević is a member of several prominent professional societies, including ESICM, SCCM, the Medical Intensive Care Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (where he serves as President), and the Republic of Srpska Medical Association. He has served as National Representative to ESICM (2022–2024) and as reviewer for high-impact journals such as Critical Care, BMJ Open, Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, Journal of Clinical Medicine, and Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, among many others.
His scientific work includes 55 peer-reviewed publications, with an h-index of 16 and i10-index of 25. He is the Editor-in-Chief of several university textbooks in critical care medicine, respiratory physiology, acid–base disorders, and prehospital emergency care, as well as the founding Editor-in-Chief of Respiratio, the official journal of the Association of Pulmonologists of Republika Srpska and the Medical Intensive Care Society.
Professor Kovačević has been internationally recognised for his contributions to critical care, including the Barry A. Shapiro Memorial Award for Excellence in Critical Care Management (SCCM, 2025), and is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (FCCP) and a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM). Fluent in English and Serbian, with passive knowledge of German, he is widely respected for his dedication to advancing critical care practice, education, and leadership across the Balkans and internationally.
