Professor Milena Georgieva, PhD

Professor in Molecular Biology
Interests: Genetics and Epigenetics

http://consult.enago.com/experts/milena-georgieva/

E-mail:  milenageorgy@gmail.com
milenaki@chromatinepigenetics.com
Tel: (+359) 2 979 36 97
CURRICULUM VITAE

Name Milena Georgieva Vasileva
Citizenship Bulgarian
Language proficiency English – fluent
Spanish – fluent
Russian – good
Address Institute of Molecular Biology "Acad. R. Tsanev"
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS)
Molecular Genetics Lab
“Acad. G. Bonchev” str., bl. 21, lab 523
1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Telephone (+359) 2 979 36 97
E-mail milenaki@chromatinepigenetics.com
milenageorgy@gmail.com 
Education and current job:

2023 - 2024
2016 – 2023
Professor at he Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS
Associate professor at the Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS
2010 – 2016 Assistant professor the Institute of Molecular Biology, BAS, Sofia
2009, July PhD in Molecular Biology
Thesis title: “Structural and functional significance of linker histone Hho1p for Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin”
2004 – 2009 PhD student - Institute of Molecular Biology “Acad. R. Tsanev”, BAS
2001 – 2004 Research assistant at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia
2001, May MSc in Pedagogy (teacher in Biology)
1999 – 2001 MSc. student in Biology Pedagogy
2001, October MSc. in Cellular and Developmental Biology
1996 – 2001 MSc student in Cellular and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University, Bulgaria
Diploma thesis “Antitumor activities of isoquinoline alkaloids”
1991 – 1996 Secondary English Language School “Dr. P. Beron” Kyustendil, Bulgaria
Project leadership

2010 – 2013 Research Project at the Bulgarian Science Fund - A detailed study of the role of yeast linker histone Hho1p in the processes of chromatin remodeling
Grant number: DMU 02/8, “Young Researchers Competition”, Section Biology
Project participation
2018 - 2021Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund: "Investigation of the ecological pressure in the Bulgarian Black sea aquatory using the Black sea mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam as a model through integrated microbiological, biochemical and molecular biology markers"
2017 – 2020Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund: "Chromatin structure and dynamics during the lifespan of living organisms – elucidating the most intricate mechanisms that govern cellular fate"
2018 - 2020Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund: "Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES)"
2017 - 2020NATO SPS MYP Project G5266: "Field detector for genotoxicity by CBRN and explosive devices"

2016 – 2019
Research project at the Bulgarian Science FundMolecular mechanisms of immune tolerance - importance for endocrine function of regulatory T-cells.”
2010 – 2014 Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund, Grant number DID 02/35. “Study on some molecular mechanisms by which fragile X mental retardation protein 1 in Drosophila melanogaster (dFMRP1) controls some aspects of neuronal development.”
2011 – 2013 Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund, Grant number DDVU 02/61. “Enviromental pollution impact on the ionome of natural populations of dandelion for monitoring purposes”.
2009 – 2011 European Commission, European Social Fund, Human Resources Development “Young Scientists’ support for career development” Grant number: BG 051 PO 001-3.3.04/58.
2005 – 2006 Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund – Optimization of a novel test for detection of DNA damaging agents in food; Grant number: MU - B-1512/05, “Young Scientists’ Call”, Section Biology
2004 – 2006 Research project at the Bulgarian Science Fund - Molecular markers in plant taxonomy – application of the RAPD method in the taxonomic study of Galanthus L. in Bulgaria; Grant number: MU - B -1407/04, Section Biology
Teaching experience

2004 – present Assistant supervisor in practical exercises of BSc and MSc degree Molecular Biology students in the summer semester courses “Regulation of Gene Activity” and “Apoptosis” at the Faculty of Biology, Sofia University
2008 – 2012 An invited lecturer at the summer semester course “Regulation of Gene Activity”, Faculty of Biology, SU; Lectures’ titles: “Posttranslational modifications of histone proteins”, “Cross-talk of posttranslational histone modifications” and “Processes of chromatin remodeling”
2007 – 2009 Scientific advisor of an undergraduate student on his Master degree thesis preparation: “Epigenetic significance of histone H1 zero in the development of human gliomas”
Professional membership

2004 – present Union of Scientists in Bulgaria
2003 – present FEBS constituent society
2017 – present Society of Cancer Epigenetics
Awards and scholarships

2011 Best Young Investigator in the field of Biomedicine - The Union of Bulgarian Scientists
2010 – 2011 National Scholarship Programme at the World Federation of Scientists
2010 Best Young Investigator - The Union of Bulgarian Scientists
2007 Best Young Investigator - The Union of Bulgarian Scientists; Stara Zagora, International Scientific Conference
2006 Best Young Investigator - The Union of Bulgarian Scientists
Attended courses

2011 CBM Summer School 2011 on the topics of Active and Healthy Aging - 11th - 13th July, 2011, Trieste, Italy
2009 CEEPUS international summer school: Bioanalysis, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, 6 – 12 Sept., 2009
2008 FEBS advanced course: “Microspectroscopy: Monitoring molecular interactions in living cells”, Wageningen, the Netherlands, 21-27 September, 2008
2007 ECDO training courses: Concepts and methods in programmed cell death, Portoroz, Slovenia, 26-27 October, 2007
2006 Marie Curie advanced course: Third Course on Epigenetics, Paris, France, 17-25 Oct, 2006
2006 EBSA course: – Sofia School of Protein Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, 20-28 Sept, 2006
2002 FEBS course: Basic Methods in Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology, Strasbourg, France, 7-20 July, 2002
Attended conferences

2017
15th International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry “From Molecules to Diseases” - May 18 - 21, 2017, Antalya, Turkey
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetic significance of higher-order chromatin organization in health and disease

2017
European Scientists’ Night – 30th Sept., 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ Molecular Biology – challenges and perspectives

2017
OSEM live – 8th October, 2017
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetics

2017
Festival The Freedom to be – 21st, October, 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetics - the magic to age healthily

2017
Orange career paths – 21st October, 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ Vocation SCIENTIST

2017
TEDxSofia – 3rd June, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ The secrets hidden in the human genome

2017
Festival The Freedom to be – 8th April, 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ The Freedom to change your genome

2016
European Scientists’ Night – 30th Sept., 2016, Ruse, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ To prepare a GENEial recipe

2016
European Youth parliament - 23 - 24 Jan., 2016, Sofia
Invited talk: ▪ Augmented human - optimizing the human
2016Epiconcept - Epigenetics and Periconception environment COST Action FA1201 - "Cross species epigenetics, gametogenesis and embryogenesis" - 17 - 19 May, 2016, Velingrad, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ Impact of human sperm chromatin organization on sperm quality
2016Advanced Research Workshop - NATO SPS - Benchmarking Telemedicine: Improving Health security on the Balkans - 15 - 17 Nov., 2016, Skopje, FYRM
Invited talk: ▪ TeleGenetics - bringing Telemedicine closer to the new era of personalized medicine

2016
First Anti-ageing Symposium - 19 - 20 Nov., 2016, Sofia
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetic Antiageing perspectives
2015 XXVth International Scientific Conference dedicated to 50 Anniversary of the Union of Scientists in Stara Zagora – 4th – 5th June, Stara Zagora
Talk: ▪ Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin mutants exhibit premature ageing phenotypes.
Poster: ▪ Epigenetic significance of chromatin structure in cellular ageing 
2015 14th International Symposium on Immunology of Reproduction – 22nd – 24th May, 2015, Varna, Bulgaria
Poster: ▪ Advantages of human sperm DNA damage detection by the method of Comet Assay .
2015 Sixth Workshop on Experimental Models and Methods in Biomedical Research – 12th – 14th May, 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria
Invited talk: ▪ Saccharomyces cerevisiae – a brilliant model for studying ageing.
Invited talk: ▪ Chromatin - the main player in the ageing process.
2015 Mini_symposium “Epigenetics and Chromatin structure” – 31st March, 2015, LIMES, under the initiative “Women in Science”
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetic Significance of higher-order chromatin structures for cellular stress resistance and longevity.
2015 13th International Congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT 2015) - Paris, France, 2-4 March 2015
Poster: ▪ INFLUENCE OF DEOXYCHOLIC ACID AND ITS METAL COMPLEXES ON VIABILITY AND PROLIFERATION OF HUMAN TUMOR CELL LINES
L. Dyakova, T. Zhivkova, A. Abudalleh, D.-C. Culita, G. Marinescu, L. Patron, M. Georgieva, G. Miloshev, R. Kalfin, R. Alexandrova

Poster: ▪ METAL COMPLEXES OF MELOXICAM AND ISOXICAM DECREASE VIABILITY AND PROLIFERATION OF VIRUS-TRANSFORMED CANCER CELLS
T. Zhivkova, R. Alexandrova, L. Dyakova, M. Georgieva, G. Miloshev, D.-C. Culita, G. Marinescu, L. Patron, M. Alexandrov
2014 2nd Academy on Reproductive Medicine – Vienna In Vitro Center, Tokuda hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria, 4th October, 2104
Invited talk: ▪ Epigenetics – This is Our future.
2014 X IMYA – Xth International Meeting on Yeast Apoptosis – 14 – 18th May, Gotebourg, Sweden.
Invited talk: ▪ Chromatin remodeling as a modulator of ageing
2013 TEDxAUBG – Shake up your mind – 13th April, 2013, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Talk: ▪ Shaping our lives through genetics, epigenetics and the environment
2013 Experimental methods and models in biomedical research – 27 – 29th May, 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Talk: ▪ CHANGES IN CHROMATIN STRUCTURE REVEALED BY CHROMATIN COMET ASSAY (ChCA) IN THE FRAGILE X CHROMOSOME SYNDROME MODEL DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Talk: ▪ CHROMATIN COMET ASSAY – A POWERFFUL TOOL FOR MONITORING CHROMATIN ORGANIZATION DURING AGEING
2012 Experimental Models and Methods in Biomedical Research – 23rd -25th April 2012, Sofia, Bulgaria
Talk: ▪ Does the budding yeast linker histone hho1p influence survival and morphology of chronologically aging cells?
2012 International Scientific Conference Stara Zagora, 7th – 8th June, 2012, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Talk: ▪ The linker histone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae influences yeast chronological aging.
2012 EMBO Conference “Gene Transcription in Yeast - From Mechanisms to Gene Regulatory Networks” - 16 – 21 st June, 2012, Girona, Spain
Poster: ▪ The interaction between S. cerevisiae linker histone Hho1p and Arp4p affects chromatin remodeling.
Poster: ▪ The linker histone Hho1p is crucial for the proper organization of S. cerevisiae higher-order chromatin structure
2011 2nd IMPPC Conference “Signaling to Chromatin”, Barcelona, Spain, 31st March - 1st April, 2011.
Poster: ▪ Hho1p, the linker histone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae - can yeast cells manage without it?
Poster: ▪ Yeast Kluyveromyces lactis - a model for studying human linker histone H1 zero.
2011 Experimental models and methods in Biomedicine, 16 - 18th May, 2011, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Talk: ▪ Drosophila as an experimental model to study the fragile X chromosome syndrome.
Talk: ▪ Studying aging of the genome in the model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
2011 21st International Scientific Conference, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, 2 - 3rd June, 2011.
Talk: ▪ How important are the higher-order chromatin structures for the proper gene expression?
Talk: ▪ Environmental pollution with heavy metals and its influence on the ionome of Taraxacum officinale.
Poster: ▪ Is there a linker histone in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis?
2011 4th International Congress of Molecular Medicine - Istanbul, Turkey, 28th - 30th June, 2011.
Talk: ▪ In vivo interactions of S. cerevisiae linker histone with chromatin remodeling complexes.
Poster: ▪ Saccharomyces cerevisiae - a promising tool for studying human brain tumors.
Poster: ▪ Study of the higher-order chromatin structure in fragile X mental retardation gene (FMR1) knock-out Drosophila mutants.
2011 22nd American Peptide Symposium – Harbor Island, San Diego, USA, 25 – 30 June, 2011.
Talk: In vitro assessment of the cytotoxic effects of novel RGD-Mimetics
2011 EMBO Conference Series “Nuclear Structure and Dynamics” - L’Isle Sur la Sorgue, France, 28 Sept. – 2 October, 2011.
Poster: ▪ The linker histone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hho1p, is a moderator of chromatin organization in vivo.
Poster: ▪ In vivo interactions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae linker histone with chromatin remodeling complexes.
2011 Anniversary Molecular Biology Conference – 50 Years Institute of Molecular Biology, 6-7th October, 2011, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Talk: ▪ The influence of the remodeling complex INO80 on the higher-order chromatin structures of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
2011 7th Balkan Congress of Microbiology, 25-29th October, 2011, Belgrade, Serbia.
Poster: ▪ Dessislava Staneva, E. Peycheva, M. Georgieva, B. Boteva and G. Miloshev. 2011. Sensitivity of the yeasts Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to genotoxic agents studied by Comet Assay – a comparative study
2011 6th Workshop on Biological activities of metals, synthetic compounds and natural products -Sofia, Bulgaria, 28 – 30 November, 2011
Talk: ▪ Our first steps in tissue engineering?
2010 International workshop on Experimental Models and Methods for Biomedical Research, Sofia, Bulgaria 17-17 March, 2010.
Talk: ▪ Saccharomyces cerevisiae - model organism for study of human diseases
2010 20 th Anniversary International Scientific Conference. Stara Zagora 3rd – 4th June, 2010.
Talk: ▪ The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their potentials for studying of human gliomas.
2010 Yeast, an evergreen model, Sapienza Uni, Rome, 22 – 25th Sept. 2010
Poster: ▪ Deletion of the linker histone Hho1p suppresses arp4 mutant phenotype in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Talk: ▪ Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a model for linker histone and higher-order chromatin structure studies
2010 3rd SFB TR5 Symposium on Chromatin – Assembly and Inheritance of Functional States, Munich, Germany, 6th – 8th October, 2010.
Poster: ▪ Hho1p – the linker histone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae plays an important role in chromatin organization
2009 International Scientific Conference: Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, 4-5 June, 2009;
Talk: ▪ Effect of the transcription factor Sub1 on S. cerevisiae chromatin organization.
Talk: ▪ Hho1p and its role in the processes of chromatin remodeling
2009 Bulgarian–Japanese Symposium “Genomics and Proteomics in Personalized Medicine”, Sofia, Bulgaria 19-20 March, 2009.
Poster: ▪ Development of a molecular marker for personalized diagnostics of human glioma tumors
2009 CEEPUS International Symposium and Summer School on Bioanalysis. Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria 6-12 September, 2009.
Talk: ▪ The method of Comet Assay in Bioanalysis
Poster: ▪ Genotoxic sensitivity of Kluyveromyces lactis assessed by Comet Assay
2008 MC-GARD Conference: Interplay among genetics, epigenetics and small RNAs, Madrid, Spain, 4-7th May, 2008;
Poster: ▪ Epigenetic significance of Histone H10 in development of human gliomas
2008 EMBO Workshop: Gene transcription in yeast: Sant Feliu de Gauxols,(Costa Brava), Spain, 21-26 June, 2008;
Poster : ▪ Act3p/Arp4 interacts with linker histone Hho1p in S. cerevisiae nuclei in vivo and thus both maintain higher-order chromatin structure in concert
Poster: ▪ Chromatin loop organization in HMG1 KO mutant
2007 Scientific Conference for PhD students and young scientists:Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 24 March, 2007;
Talk: ▪ Molecular and cell- biological methods for detection of the effects of Bulgarian propolis
2007 International Scientific Conference: Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, 7-8 June, 2007;
Talk: Chromatin remodeling complexes and their roles in higher-ordered structuring of chromatin
2007 15th Conference on Apoptosis: Portoroz, Slovenia, 26-31 October 2007;
Poster: ▪ Cellular death in Glioblastoma multiforme
2007 20th International meeting on “The Biology of Kluyveromyces lactis, Orsay, France, 7-9 Sept., 2007; Poster: Single-Cell Gel Electrophoresis (SCGE) on Kluyveromyces lactis
Recent original publications
2017Georgieva, M., Staneva, D. and Miloshev, G. 2017 TeleGenetics – Bringing Telemedicine Closer to the New Era of Personalized Medicine In Benchmarking Telemedicine: Improving Health Security in the Balkans,IOS press, Editor Stone, C.S., pp: 42-48,DOI:10.3233/978-1-61499-812-9-42, ISBN print 978-1-61499-811-2; ISBN online 978-1-61499-812-9
2017Miloshev, G., Staneva, D. and Georgieva, M. 2017 Genetics and Epigenetics in Telemedicine In Benchmarking Telemedicine: Improving Health Security in the Balkans,IOS press, Editor Stone, C.S., pp: 37-41,DOI:10.3233/978-1-61499-812-9-37,ISBN print 978-1-61499-811-2; ISBN online 978-1-61499-812-9
2016Staneva, D., Georgieva, M. and Miloshev, G. 2016 Klyuveromices lactis harbours a functional linker histone encoding gene FEMS Yeast Res, Volume 16 (4), April 2016, Pages 182-192
2016Vasileva, B., Georgieva, M., Staneva, D., Zagorchev, P. and Miloshev, G. 2016 Chromatin modulates cellular response to UV light during the process of chronological ageing International Comptes Rendus de l'Academie Bulgare de Sciences , Volume 69 (12), Pages1592-1602
2016Georgieva, M., Staneva, D. and Miloshev, G. Epigenetic significance of chromatin during cellular ageing and organismal lifespan In D. Hollar and D. Vasudevan (Eds.) Epigenetics, the environment and children's health across lifespans, New York, Springer, pp 21-66, ISBN: 978-3-319- 25323-7.
2015 Georgieva, M., Staneva, D., Uzunova, K., Еfremоv, T., Balashev, K., Harata, M. 2015 Miloshev, G. The linker histone in Saccharomyces cerevisiae interacts with actin-related protein 4 and both regulate chromatin structure and cellular morphology International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Volume 59, February 2015, Pages 182-192
2013 Staneva, D., Peycheva, E., Georgieva, M., Еfremоv, T. and Miloshev, G. 2012. Application of comet assay for the assessment of DNA damage caused by chemical genotoxins in the dairy yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 103: 143 – 152
2012 Miloshev G. and Georgieva M., 2012. The linker histone and chromatin of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In: Histones: Class, Structure and Function (Chang-Hui Shen, ed.), Nova Science Publishers, NY, USA (2012) pp. 59 - 75, ISBN: 978-1-62100-274-1
2012 Alexandrova, R.I., Zhivkova, T., Alexandrov, M., Miloshev, G., Georgieva, M., Pantcheva I., Mitewa, M. 2012. Cytostatic and cytotoxic properties of Monensic acid and its biometal(II) complexes against human tumor / non-tumor cell lines. Central European Journal of Chemistry (in press) ISSN: 1895-1066
2012 Peycheva, E., Tashev, A., Vasileva, Y., Staneva, D., Georgieva, M., Miloshev, G. 2012. Genome rearrangements in the common dandelion Taraxacum officinale web. Collected from sites polluted with heavy metals. Comptes Rendus de l’Academie Bulgare, des Sciences, 65 (6): 807 – 814, ISSN: 1310-1331
2012 Georgieva M., Staneva D., Uzunova K. and Miloshev G. 2012. The deletion of the gene for the linker histone in arp 4 mutant yeast cells is not deleterious. Biotechnology and Biotechnological Equipment, 26 134 – 139, ISSN: 0003-6072
2012 Georgieva M., Roguev A., Balashev K., Zlatanova J., Miloshev G. 2012. Hho1p, the linker histone of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is important for the proper chromatin organization in vivo. BBA Gen Reg Mechanisms, 1819 (5): 366-374, ISSN: 1874-9399
2012 Miloshev M, Peycheva E, Georgieva M. 2012. A sensitive method detects DNA damages caused by food additives. Journal of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1, 10-14. ISSN: 0007-3989
2011 Georgieva, M. and Miloshev, G. 2011. To age like a cathedral. Article in the popular science magazine – “Eight” 4, April; pp: 70-75; ISSN 1313-650X
2009 Miteva, R., Georgieva, M., Peycheva, E., Еfremоv, T., Miloshev, G. 2009. Development of conditions for comet assay application in forensic investigation of rape and other sexual assaults. Biotechnology and Biotechnological Equipment 23 (1), pp. 1093-1094
2009 Peycheva, E., Georgieva, M., Miloshev, G. 2009. Comparison between alkaline and neutral variants of yeast comet assay. Biotechnology and Biotechnological Equipment 23 (1), pp. 1090-1092
2009 Georgieva, M., Еfremоv, T., Alexandrova, R. and Miloshev, G. 2009. Comet Assay discriminates levels of chromatin compaction, Comptes Rendus de L'Academie Bulgare des Sciences 62 (4), pp. 479-484
2009 Miloshev, G., Staneva, D. and Georgieva, M. 2009. Epigenetics: we are the way we live
2008 Georgieva, M., Harata, M. and Miloshev, G. The nuclear actin-related protein Act3p/Arp4 influences yeast cell shape and bulk chromatin organization, J Cellular Biochem, 2008 May 1;104(1): 59-67
2008 Draganova-Filipova, M., Georgieva, M., Peycheva, E., Miloshev, M., Sarafian, V. and Peychev, P. 2008. Effects of propolis and CAPE on proliferation and apoptosis of McCoy-Plovdiv cell line. Folia Medica 1: 53-59