Ivan Đaja

Ivan Đaja
Иван Ђаја
Born(1884-07-21)21 July 1884
Died1 October 1957(1957-10-01) (aged 73)
Alma materSorbonne
Known forpioneer of hypothermia
AwardsMontyon Prize (1946)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Belgrade
Doctoral advisorAlbert Dastre

Ivan Đaja (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Ђаја, French: Jean Giaja; 21 July 1884 – 1 October 1957) was a Serbian biologist, physiologist, author and philosopher.

He was founder of the Chair for physiology at the Serbian Institute for Physiology, rector of the University of Belgrade, and member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts. Đaja was a popularizer of biology, performed research in the role of the adrenal glands in thermoregulation, as well as pioneering work in hypothermia.

He has been described as the "restless researcher of the secret of life", who left a valuable creative and human mark in Serbian society, which was mostly pushed aside in the previous decades.