Maja was born in Zagreb, Croatia and made her way through the eastern European educational system, which included attending a specialized high school-- in this case, one that specialized in math and computer science. She left Croatia in August 1991 as an exchange student to the U.S. After finishing high school, she entered Northland College in Ashland, WI (mostly due to war-like circumstances in Croatia), and graduated with degrees in Mathematics as well as Environmental Science. Her combined interests in math and biology led her to biostatistics, and, seeking the leading institution, she entered UC Berkeley’s doctoral program. Maja has enjoyed her 5 years as a graduate student at Berkeley, which have included a year as a teaching assistant, a year’s work at UCSF Prevention Sciences Group, and the past three years as a Genentech doctoral fellow.

With the guidance of her advisor, Mark van der Laan, she has developed specific research interests of her own and earned her Ph.D. in Biostatistics. Maja's CV is also available.