Editorial Team

Vladimir Trajkovski, MD, PhD - Editor in Chief
Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Philosophy, University "Ss. Cyril and Methodius", Skopje, Macedonia.
Email: editorjhrs@almamater.si and vladotra@fzf.ukim.edu.mk

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Trajkovski is born in Skopje, Macedonia in 1968. He is Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje (1994), where he later obtained his M.Sc. (1999). He obtained PhD degrees in 2002 on the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. He works as president of Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism since 2005. He introduced subject Autism in the postgraduate curricula at the Faculty of Philosophy. His research interest are genetic and physiological aspects of autism spectrum disorders, but he has also published in the fields of human genetics and medical aspects of disability. He was former editor of the Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation in the period (2008-2017), and Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities (2018-2022). He became head of educational-scientific board of postgraduate studies at Institute of Special Education and Rehabilitation from October 2009 until September 2013. He is an active member of the Autism Europe, member of the European Association of Service Providers for People with disabilities, member of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities. He is member of editorial board of five international journals. He takes a part in 21 international projects and attends on more than 100 conferences and seminars. He has more than 120 articles published in domestic and international journals and 7 handbooks and 3 manuals and brochures.

Manuel Casanova, MD – Member of Editorial Board
Smart State Endowed Chair in Childhood Neurotherapeutics, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville, USA.
Email: manuel.casanova@louisville.edu

Dr. Manuel Casanova made his residency training in neurology and then spent 3 years doing a fellowship in neuropathology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. During his stay at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Casanova was in-charge of Pediatric Neuropathology, a fact which kindled his interest in developmental disorders of the brain. His clinical experience was enhanced by appointments as either a consultant or staff neuropathologist at Sinai Hospital (Maryland), the North Charles Hospital and the D.C. General Hospital. He spent several years as Deputy Medical Examiner for Washington, D.C., where he gained valuable experience in the post-mortem examination of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and child abuse. His expertise in the field was recognized by honorary appointments as a Scientific Expert for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and as a Professorial Lecturer for the Department of Forensic Science at George Washington University. Dr. Casanova spent 8 years helping to establish 2 of the most successful brain banks in this country: The Johns Hopkins Brain Resource Center (3 years) and the Brain Bank Unit of the Clinical Brains Disorders Branch at the National Institutes of Mental Health (5 years). Dr. Casanova is the recipient of the Presidential Award of the American Medical Association, National Research Service Award by US Public Health Service, a Stanley Scholar, Senior Scientist Award (Winter Workshop in Schizophrenia), an honorary Doctor’s degree, Honorary Visiting Professorship, and Contributing Piece Award by Families for Effective Autism Treatment. He also serves in numerous Scientific Advisory Boards and as editor for over a dozen journals. At present he is the SmartState Chair for Childhood Neurotherapeutics at the University of South Carolina.

John Wells, PhD – Member of Editorial Board

School of Health Sciences, South East Technological University, O’Connell Bianconi Building, Cork Road Campus, Waterford City, Ireland, 

Email: John.Wells@setu.ie 

Professor Wells qualified as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in 1988 and worked in London based mental health clinical services before transitioning to an academic career- first at the Maudsley School of Nursing and then at the Department of Nursing, King’s College London. He then moved to Ireland in 1998. He is Dean of the School of Health Sciences at South East Technological University, Ireland. His primary research interests lie in workplace wellbeing, addictions and conflict impacts on health services, both staff and vulnerable populations.

Professor Wells is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing; a Fellow Ad Eundem of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a Marie Skladowska-Curie Senior International Fellow. He holds Visiting Professorial appointments University College Dublin, King's College London, UK and the University of Maribor, Slovenia. He is affiliate faculty at the Golisano Institute for Intellectual and Developmental Disability Nursing at St John Fisher College, Rochester, NYS.

He has served on various Irish national advisory committees in the health and nursing arena, including as a board member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; the undergraduate review of nurse education; the national research strategy for nursing and the national advisory panel on drugs (training subcommittee). He sits on The National Research Ethics Committee of Ireland for clinical trials and is an executive committee member of The Institute of Industrial Engineers and Safety Management Systems, with special responsibility to advise on Decent work and employee wellbeing.

Jane McCarthy, MD, PhD – Member of Editorial Board
University of Auckland, New Zealand, Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Department of Forensic & Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King’s College London and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK.
Email: jane.m.mccarthy@kcl.ac.uk

Dr Jane McCarthy is Medical Lead & Consultant Psychiatrist for the Intellectual Disability Service and Associate Medical Director at Sussex Partnership National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, England, UK. She is Honorary Associate Professor in Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand, Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Department of Forensic & Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King’s College London and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK.

Dr McCarthy has over 25 years of experience as a Senior Psychiatrist working with people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders presenting across secure and forensic services including inpatient services, prisons, courts and community based services. She has over a 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and books and has been an editor of six textbooks including co-editor of ‘A Clinician's Guide to Mental Health Conditions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders’. Dr McCarthy was founding editor of a journal established in 2015 up to 2021 titled ‘Advances in Autism: International outcomes in education, health and care’. Dr McCarthy was Clinical Advisor on Adults with Autism for the Department of Health, England and developed the first national strategy for adults with autism.

Monica Reichenberg, PhD – Member of Editorial Board
Department of Education and Special education University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Email: monica.reichenberg@ped.gu.se

Senior professor Monica Reichenberg is born in Gothenburg. She obtained her PhD degree in 2000 at the Faculty of Education, The University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She had a position as professor in general didactics from 2010-2017 at the Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg. She has been a professor in literacy at Umea University and a professor in Education at University West. Her research interest involves reading comprehension and students with intellectual disabilities. In her research, she links reading comprehension to reading strategies and language background for students with and without intellectual disability. She is also interested in how teachers´ and special educators´ attitudes relate to educational predictors. She has been a scientific leader in the Swedish literacy boost for students with intellectual disabilities.

She is a member of the editorial board of Reading Matrix. She has been a member of the board of the Swedish Dyslexia Association and Dyslexi – a journal edited by the Swedish Dyslexia Association and Swedish Dyslexia foundation. She is a member of the research committee for Swedish writers of educational books and materials (SLFF). She has published numerous articles in domestic and international journals and several books about reading comprehension. Her most well cited article is: “Developing reading comprehension among students with mild intellectual disabilities: An intervention study” co-authored with professor Ingvar professor Lundberg, published in Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. She has reviewer assignments for several journals in education, disability and psychology.

Kneginja Richter, MD, PhD, MHBA – Member of Editorial Board
Department for Sleep Medicine, Chronobiology and Neurostimulation, University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy PMU, Nuremberg, Germany.
Email: Kneginja.Richter@klinikum-nuernberg.de

Prof. Dr. med. Kneginja Richter is Head of the Department for Sleep Medicine, Chronobiology and Neurostimulation, University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy PMU in Nuremberg, Germany. She is a Full Professor at the Faculty for Social Sciences at Technical University Nuremberg, Georg Simon Ohm in Germany. Also she serves as Associate Professor at the Medical Faculty, University “Goce Delchev” in Shtip, Macedonia.

She finished her specialization in Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Sleep Medicine. Prof. Richter is member of various bodies such us: EPMA national coordinator for Bavaria, Germany and Macedonia (European Association for Preventive, Predictive & Personalised Medicine), management committee TINNET-Cost action project, Transcultural Psychiatric Association of the World Health Organization, Deputy of the Working Group “Chronobiology”, German society for sleep medicine, German society for neurophysiology (EEG Certificate) and German Doctors chamber. She received a big number of grants and awards in her career: Science Award (Gold) by Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg in Germany, Science Award (Bronze) Parcelsus Medical University Nuremberg, Germany, Award of the City Skopje, Macedonia for Support of the mental health in the country, Award for Individual Philanthropist from the Diaspora, CIR-a, Center for institutional development, Macedonia, Honour from the Faculty for Philosophy, Skopje, Macedonia, Award of Elli Lilly international foundation – „Social Integration and new alternative support of persons with mental illness in Macedonia“.

Ingrida Baranauskienė - Member of editorial board
Head of the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Klaipėda University, Klaipėda, Lithuania
Email: ingrida.baranauskiene@ku.lt

Professor Ingrida Baranauskienė delves into disability research related to the professional career development of people with disabilities, training of specialists to work with such people and the accessibility of the health care system in general.

Doctoral diploma in the field of Education Science (2003); Habilitation procedure (2008); Honorary Professor of the University “Ukraine” (Ukraine) (2012). Expert of the Research Council of Lithuania project “Lituanistika” (expertise of scientific articles). Member of the Lithuanian Educational Research Association, the European Educational Research Association. Expert of the research project INOSOCTEREHI of the NRP of the Republic of Latvia “Innovative solutions for social tele-rehabilitation in the schools of Latvia in the context of inclusive education” (2016). From October 20, 2016, by decision No. 3-3-1 of the Latvian Science Council at the Latvian Academy of Sciences, she was appointed as an expert in the field of education for a maximum period of three years.

In recent years, she interned at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA (14-29 January, 2019), Hong Kong University, China (9-26 November, 2018); Ohio State University, USA (6-21 May, 2018). She shares her experience at the universities of Greece, Bulgaria, Latvia and Kazakhstan.

I. Baranauskienė systematically initiates and conducts international and national projects for the research of the aforementioned topics. She has summarized her research in four scientific monographs (three of them with co-authors), over 150 scientific and research publications, is the author of two textbooks for higher schools, co-author of several scientific studies and educational books. The professor is an editor of a scientific journal indexed in the Web of Science™ Core Collection, works on the editorial boards of several journals.

Dobrinka Georgieva, PhD - Member of editorial board

Medical University - Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Email: doby_logo@abv.bg

Dobrinka Georgieva is Full Professor in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) at Medical University in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Dr. Georgieva teaching, research, and clinical interests are in the area of Fluency and Voice disorders, as well as History of Speech-Language Pathology and Evidence-Based Practice in SLP.

She has authored numerous research and clinical papers, chapters in books and books for stuttering and cluttering, stuttering intervention and voice disorders. In addition, Georgieva has presented widely at national and international conferences and congresses on the topics mentioned above.

She coordinated many international and national projects and initiatives (World Bank project; National Science Fund; Erasmus+ and Fulbright). Georgieva was the leading person developing the Bulgarian Logopedics specialty recognition and evaluation in the field of Public Health. She is a founder and program director of the first Master degree program on Medical SLP in Bulgaria.

Specializations in USA, France, England, the Netherland, and Russia. Fulbright alumna (2013), (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Communication Sciences and Disorders Research Center, Ohio, USA). Member of US Department State’s Global, Fulbright alumna. Last two decades (2000-2021) she was a founder and director of the University Stuttering Research Center at SWU. Member of the IALP, IFA and other international and national professional organizations. Main editor of the Bulgarian Journal of Communication Disorders (2008-2014). Member of the IALP Education Committee two terms (2007-2010 and 2010-2013). Consultant of the IALP Education Committee (2013-2016). Since 2018, member of the IFA Professional Liaisons Committee. Since 2021 member of the IFA Practice Committee.

Joanna Kossewska, PhD – Member of Editorial Board
Institute of Special, School and Teachers Education, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Krakow, Poland
Email: joanna.kossewska@up.krakow.pl

Joanna Kossewska - associate professor at the Institute of Special, School and Teachers Education of the Pedagogical University of Krakow; doctor with habilitation of social sciences in the field of education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, graduated in exceptional psychology from Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland).

The author of the monography Studies on deafness in an ecological system context (2016) and over 100 papers in the field of exceptional psychology published inter alia in: Education Sciences, European Journal of Special Needs Education, International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering, International Journal of Special Education, etc.

The member of Editorial boards of: Psychologia Rozwojowa and Social Welfare: Interdisciplinary Approach.

Experienced in international EU projects as coordinator: (1) “How to Talk and be Understood” - a self-education social communication programme for adults with autism, 2007-2009; (2) Vocational Education with embedded Social inclusion Tactics for Autistic People, 2012-2014; or partner leader: (1) On-line Trainautism: Training about disorders of the autistic spectrum, 2001-2004; (2) Creation of the Ideal Model of Vocational Counselling for Children and Youth with Special Educational Needs, 2010-2012;, (3) EDUROB - Educational Robotics for Students with Learning Disabilities, 2014-2016; (4) Inclusive education: socio-psychological, educational, sociological aspects, 2014-2017; (5) Autism Spectrum Disorder – Empowering and Supporting Teachers (ASD-EAST), 2018-2020.

Involved in activities for the persons with ASD benefit as a volunteer at the Krakow Branch of National Society for Autism (over 25 years) as well as a board member of the Community of Hope Foundation (“The Farm of Life”) in Wieckowice.

Yasir Ahmed Syed, Ph.D. – Member of Editorial board
Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute and School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK
Email: syedy@cardiff.ac.uk

Dr. Yasir Ahmed Syed is group leader at Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, Cardiff University. Dr. Syed did his PhD from MaxPlanck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Germany and postdoctoral research at Welcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge UK. Main research focus of his group is to model neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases using human stem models. Complementary research project focuses on mechanisms of CNS regeneration with a particular focus on remyelination, an adult stem cell-mediated process in which new myelin sheaths are restored to demyelinated axons. He has number of publications and patent to his credit, where he has identified extrinsic (environmental) and intrinsic (transcriptional) factors that regulate the glial differentiation during development and disease. He is active member of number of professional societies and has reviewer assignments for several high impact journals and granting bodies (public and charities).

Branislav Brojcin, PhD – Member of Editorial Board
Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Email: branislav06@gmail.com

Branislav Brojčin is a full professor at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation. He graduated from the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation (1991), where he also earned his master’s degree (2004) and PhD (2007). During his career he worked in several elementary schools specialized for children with disabilities. Since 1998 he has been working at the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, at different positions from a researcher up to Full Professor (since 2019). He currently holds lectures at undergraduate, master and doctoral studies. Since 2011, he has been engaged in the Social Participation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities research project, which is financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. He has also participated in several educational and professional projects. He was a member of the Serbian team for inclusion educational politics at Joint European Union/Council of Europe Project "Regional Support for Inclusive Education in South East Europe" 2014–2015. Branislav Brojcin is a researcher at "Training University Teachers for the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, TUT4IND" and "Inclusion through social skills for learners with autism and intellectual impairments", a projects financed by EU within the ERASMUS+ framework. Since 1998, he has authored more than 170 publications, including 5 books and 53 peer-reviewed papers (seven indexed on Scopus and/or the ISI Web of Science).

Ljubinka Damjanovska Krstikj, MD, PhD – Member of Editorial Board

University Clinic of Rheumatology, Medical Faculty of Skopje, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius“ in Skopje, Macedonia

Email: ldamjanovska@gmail.com

Ljubinka Damjanovska Krstikj is an associate professor of internal medicine and rheumatology at the Medical Faculty of Skopje, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius“ in Skopje, Macedonia since 2015. She has an expertise in the field of rheumatoid arthritis and connective tissue diseases, and does clinical work in the Department of Rheumatology in Skopje, Noth Macedonia for more than 20 years.

She graduated with honors in 1994 and defended her Master of Science and PhD theses in 2007 and 2012, respectively. She also passed USMLE 1,2,3 and clinical skills exams in USA and 6 postgraduate courses of 1 year duration from EULARschool of rheumatology. She has done Clinical rotation, at the University of Michigan, Division of Rheumatology, Ann Arbor, USA for one year and an observership at Internal Medicine /Pediatric Medicine, at Hurley Medical Center, Flint. Michigan, USA. She was doing research at the University of Leiden, Netherlands under EULAR scientific bursary, after which she has accomplished to do her own scientific work about the the diagnostic value of anti-modified citrullinated antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis and their association with the disease activity.

She is a member of the Editorial boards of Rheumatology International and Rheumatologia Bulgaria, and has done many reviews in her scientific career. She is very fond of teaching her students about science and medicine.

Haris Memisevic, PhD, – Member of Editorial Board
Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Email: hmemisevic@gmail.com

Associate Professor Haris Memisevic was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1977. He obtained his masters degree in psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Tuzla and then a PhD degree in intellectual disabilities from University of Tuzla in 2013. He is an associate professor at the University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Educational Sciences. He teachers subjects related to special education and developmental disabilities. His research interests are in the field of child development and developmental disabilities, in particular intellectual disability. He implemented many projects regarding the development of executive functions in preschool and school children with and without developmental disabilities. Currently, he serves the vice-dean for science and research at the Faculty. He published widely in the area of special education, developmental psychology, and developmental disabilities. He is an associate editor in the journal Perceptual and Motor Skills.