Of Bulgarian Biomedical Scientists in
North America
Constantin Chipev –
physics (University of Sofia); structure of chromatin(Institute o Molecular Biology, BAS –1974-89, NIH-USA 1989-1990), disease-causing mutations in skin diseases(NIH)-1991-1995, normal and abnormal wound-healing (SUNY-Stony Brook)-1996à. Methods: standard molecular and cell biology, FACS analysis.
in the Institute of Molecular Biology and then Institute of Morphology and
Cell Biology. In USA, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine is involved in
work with liver stem/progenitor cells, liver repopulation and liver gene
therapy animal models.
Graduated from Moscow State University, MS – biochemistry, Ph.D. – molecular biology. Worked on DNA-protein interactions and residual nuclear structures in the Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS.
In the Pasteur Institute, Paris, and in the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical research, USA, studied regulation of transcription. In the laboratory of R. Davis, University of Mass. Medical School, was involved in signal transduction research –EGF receptor signaling, ZPR1. Currently a senior research scientist at Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Cancer Research, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA (studies of gene silencing); 1999: Ph. D. in Molecular Biophysics (protein DNA complexes)- The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA 1993: M. Sc. in Life Sciences (transcription in eukaryotes). The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; 1990: Biotechnology, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria ; Methods: Macromolecular structure determination by X-ray crystallography, biophysical methods, protein expression and purification, standard methods in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology.
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Nikola
Kaludov,
biotechnology (genetic engineering) U. of Sofia; origins of
replication Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS; regulation of histone gene
expression, Florida State U.; chromatin and methylation, NIH-Bethesda;
Adeno-associated virus and gene therapy, NIH-Bethesda. Methods: standard
molecular and cellular biology, protein purification (FPLC and HPLC).
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Nikolai
Kirov
Education: Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Institute of Molecular Biology, Sofia
Interests: Mechanisms of embryonic pattern formation Regulation of gene expression during development; Developmental genomics. Regulation of cell fate by Dpp-morphogen. .___________________________________________________________________________________
Emil Kozarov
University of Florida, Center for Molecular
Microbiology and Department of Oral
Biology, Gainesville, FL Areas of interest: microbial pathogenesis, infections and cardiovascular disease, cancer; Methodology: molecular biology
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Milka
Ivanova Datcheva
plant protection ( Institute of Agriculture Sofia); hormone physiology - cytokinins (Institute of Plant Physiology, BAS), regulation of plant cell cycle and proliferation (Institute of Genetics, BAS),same ( University of Antwerp, Belgium), same ( University of California, Davis), cell wall biosynthesis- sucrose synthase ( University of California, Davis), regulation of plant cell proliferation and embryogenesis (Novartis/Syngenta Seeds, Inc.). Methods: standard molecular and cellular biology._
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Tatyana
Nikolova
Chemistry (Sofia University)Regulation of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors (Inst. Biological Physics,USSR AS); Chemoreception (Luisiana State Univ.),G Protein regulation of Ion Channels (Johns Hopkins Univ. SOM., Penn State, College of Medicine/Wies Center for Research; East Carolina Univ. BSOM
Vessela S. Ivanova - chemistry, biochemistry (University of Sofia);
structure of chromatin(Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS,
Sofia), heat-shock genes structure by PCR (Washington U, St.Louis, MO),
histone variants functions (NIH, Bethesda), PARP and apoptosis (George town
U, Washington, DC), vaccine development (WRAIR, Washington, DC) Methods:
standard molecular and cellular biology, protein chemistry, immunology,
microbiology.
Lyuben N. Marekov:
1977 MSc Organic Chemistry - University of Sofia.
1982 PhD in Molecular Biology – Institute of Molecular Biology, Sofia.
1988 Post-Doc in Protein Chemistry- Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
1991- present Research in protein chemistry and mass spectroscopy - NIH
Dessislava Markova –
chemist (Institute of Chemical Technology,Sofia)
- Cell proliferation (Institute of Molecular Biology,BAS)
- Medical Oncology (Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia)
- Dermatology (Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia)
- Metods: DNA-techniques,FACS Analysis, cDNA Microarray
Expression Analysis.
Lilia Maglova-Crowe, Ph.D.Res. Assist.Prof..Department of Biology,Syracuse University,
BAN, lab of biophysics with B. Atanassov. Bacteriorhodopsin-research.mainly microrocalorimetry metodi. Last 10 years - in US - cytomegalovirus infections, structure and function of electroneutral ion transporters as Na+/H+ ; K.Na,Cl ili Cl-/HCO3-."Reciprocal Changes of Expression of NHE1 and NHE2 Isoforms caused by Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Human MRC-5 Fibroblast"
Vessela Mavrodieva
PhD in virology in Moscow State University, Russia; M.Sc – biochemistry in Sofia University, Bulgaria. Research – molecular biology of plant viruses: structure and expression of plant virus genomes, development of methods for detection and identification of plant pathogens. Currently in USDA-APHIS-NPGQC in Beltsville, MD working on quarantine plant pathogens.
Vesco Josifov Mutskov
Present: Postdoctoral fellow at Laboratory of Molecular Biology -NIDDK-> NIH > Establishment and maintenance of chromatin domain boundaries. > Visiting fellow at Institute Albert Bonniot, Department of Molecular Biology of Cell Differentiation, Grenoble, France - Persistent interactions of the core histone tails with nucleosomal DNA following acetylation and transcription factor binding; Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Institute of Molecular biology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, - Acetylation of histones associated with actively transcribed genes.Method ofin vivo UV laser crosslinking of proteins to DNA; M.Sc. in Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University
Chemistry/Biochemistry (Tokai Univ., Japan) Ribosome biogenesis (Inst. Molecular Biology, BAS); Regulation of ribosomal gene transcription (Johns Hopkins Univ. SOM); Cell signaling (Penn State College of Medicine/Wies Center for Research; East Carolina Univ. BSOM)
Petko Petkov - genetics (University of Sofia), biochemical and m genetics studies in Drosophila (University of Sofia), investigation onliver stem/progenitor cells, gene therapy using fetal liver cells (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY). Methods: Molecular and cellular biology, genetics.
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Stefka Petkova - microbiology (University of Sofia), bioleaching using
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans (University of Sofia), molecular biology of
hagas' disease and Trypanozoma cruzi (Albert Einstein College of Medicine,Bronx, NY). Methods - molecular biology, microbiology and parasitology.
Valya
Russanova,
biochemistry (University of Sofia); structure of chromatin
(Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS, and in NIH-Bethesda), Heterochromatin
and Gene Silencing; Role of Chromatin structure in Cellular Senescence and
Stress resistance (NIH-Bethesda), Methods: gene clonning, tissue culture,
immunochemical techniques, retroviral gene transduction, ChIP assay,
DifferentialDisplay.
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Maria G. Russeva-Vitanova
Education: Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Medical University of Sofia, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Present: Postdoctoral fellow, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
Interests: Regulation of the
physiological and neoplastic growth of mammary epithelial cells,
Proto-oncogenes in mammary oncogenesis, Mechanisms of apoptosis and their
dysregulation during cellular transformation. Methods: standard molecular and
cellular biology. ___________________________________________________________________________
Lubomir
B. Smilenov,
Associated Res. Scientist,Department of Radiation Oncology,Columbia University
My research is focused on two main topics: Integrin cell adhesion receptors and Genomic instability and telomere metabolism. Integrin cell adhesion receptors : The projects I am involved in are: a) Influence of different integrin receptor domains on integrin function - by creating many different chimeric b1 integrin receptor constructs (more than 15), transfecting in cells, isolating of stable clones and analysing of the function of the expressed chimeric proteins we showed that specific regions have strong influence on the receptor function. By expressing of a GFP linked integrin receptor subunit and live imaging of cells we discovered unexpected dynamics of focal adhesion contacts in fibroblasts, revealing new aspects of the adhesion and migration processes. b) We have created and analyzed a transgenic mice expressing integrin dominant negative construct under the control of thymocyte specific promoter. The results showed some of the roles of the b1 integrins during thymocyte development. Genomic instability and telomere metabolism: With series of biochemical experiments we showed a link between telomere metabolism and genomic instability. We cloned and analyzed the function of Chinese hamster telomeric protein chTRF1 and its potential role in chromosomal instability. Currently I am analyzing the gene expression under different conditions in human and mouse normal and transformed fibroblasts having mutant ATM gene
Maria Spasova
MS Organic Chemistry (University of Sofia); PhD Biochemistry
(Institute of Molecular Biology BAS)
-Synthesis of nucleosides, nucleotides and oligonucleotides
(Institute of Molecular Biology BAS,
Inst. of Organic chemistry and Biochemistry CZAS, Prague, MSKCC-New York)
-Synthesis and structural assignment of fluorescent probes for drug
conjugates (MSKCC)
-PET scanning reagents (MSKCC)
-Synthetic anticancer vaccines (MSKCC)
-Synthesis of natural products (d Epothilon B) MSKCC
Liana Tsenova - MD. (Medical Academy, Sofia);
Immune response in tuberculosis and lung diseases (Institute of
Lung Diseases, MA); clinical immunology of infectious diseases and neuro infections in particular (Department of microbiology, Medical Academy, Sofia); Immune response in tuberculosis, animal models of TB: aerosol infection of mice, TB meningitis on a rabbit model, involvement of cytokines, immunomodulation and vaccine studies (Lab of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, NY)
Lubo Vassilev: Molecular Biology (University of Sofia); chromatin structure
and eukaryotic DNA replication (Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS; Mount
Sinai School of Medicine; Roche Institute of Molecular Biology); preclinical
cancer research and drug discovery (Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.)
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Galya Vassileva: Biology (University of Sofia); molecular biology,
transgenic and gene knockout technology (Roche Institute of Molecular
Biology; Novartis; Schering-Plough Research Institute
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Kamen Voivodov, Director, BioChip Systems Development. 20
years of experience in surface and bioconjugate chemistry, enzyme
engineering, biocatalysis, and protein chemistry and biosensor design. At
IllumeSys Pacific and Ciphergen Biosystems, he led the design and
development of BioChips for peptide and protein analysis. Since 1995, he has
been one of the inventors and a lead developer responsible for protein chip
microarrays used for immunoassays, protein profiling, and other
surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) mass spectrometry
related applications. Dr. Voivodov has published over 30 scientific papers
during his tenure at BAS Institute of Organic Chemistry, Baylor University,
Wesleyan University, and University of California. Dr. Voivodov holds Ph.D.
from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for his pioneering work on
enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of neurotransmitters using immobilized bacterial
cells"
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MS in Medicinal Chemistry (Higher Inst. of Chem. Technology., Sofia),Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry (University of Massachusetts Medical Center); Synthesis of vasodilators (Chem. Pharm. Res. Inst., Sofia); - Peptide Chemistry, Synthesis of Veterinary Drugs (Higher Inst. Of Chem. Technology, Sofia); Chemistry of Modified Nucleoside Di-, and Triphosphates, NMR study of
Nucleosides, Stereo-chemistry of dCMP hydroxymethylase (University of
Massachusetts Medical Center);
- Development of new antiviral and anticancer prodrugs (Drug Innovation
and Design, Inc., Brandeis University, Mass.)
Techniques: Organic Synthesis and Synthesis of Labeled Compound, NMR,
HPLC, MS and LCMS, IR, UV and fluorescent spectroscopy.
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MS in Medicinal Chemistry (Higher Inst. of Chem. Technology, Sofia)
- Semi-synthethic Ergot Alkaloids (Chem. Pharm. Res. Inst., Sofia)
- Development of new antiviral and anticancer prodrugs (Drug Innovation
and Design, Inc., Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass)
- Automated Peptide Synthesis and Combinatorial Chemistry (Biogen Inc.,
Cambridge, Mass.) Techniques: Organic Synthesis, HPLC and other chromatographies, MS and
LCMS
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Alexander Yordanov, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (
Ph.D., Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1996; B.S., St. Kliment
Ohrdiski University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1991 ). Alpha-radioimmunotherapy
of cancer. Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of linkers for labeling
of antibodies with At-211, Pb-212, Bi-212, Bi-213 and other isotopes of
clinical importance. Dendrimers in imaging. Development of dendrimer-based CT
and EPR imaging agents.