Outpatient Department

Curriculum Vitae

Graduated:

1979 - Medical University, Sofia

Medical licensure:

1979 M.D. degree

Board certified:

in neurology - 1986

Training:

1985 - Ph.D. thesis: "Audio-Vestibular Disturbances in Patients with Early Cerebrovascular Insufficiency".
1999 - D.Sc. thesis: "Functional Aspects of the Vestibular System in Parallel with Other Sensory Systems in Norm and Pathology".

Current position:

Associate Professor in neurology, Medical University - Sofia
Professor of Neurology and Head of Outpatients department 2003 - at present.
Deputy Director of Science 2008 - at present.

Professional experience:

• General Medicine Practitioner (and specializing Internal diseases) - Regional Hospital in Stara Zagora, 1980-1982.
• Postgraduate Student - Institute of Neurology, Psychiatry & Neurosurgery, Medical Academy, 1982-1985.
• Assistant Professor - Section of Neuro-Otology, Medical University - Sofia, University Hospital of Neurology, Psychiatry, 1985 - 1995.
• Professor of Neurology and Head of Ambulatory Care Center 2003 - at present.
• Deputy Director of Science 2008 -at present.
• Senior Research Associate - University of Texas, Galveston, TX, USA, 1990.
• Senior Research Associate - Link?ping University, Sweden, 1991.
• Senior Research Associate - Freiburg University, Freiburg i Br., Germany, 1993.
• Senior Research Associate - NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, USA, 1995 - 1997.
• Associate Professor of Neurology - Head of Section of Neuro-Otology, Medical University - Sofia,
• Senior Research Associate - Munich University, Munich, Germany 1999-2000.
• Senior Scientist - Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Pensacola, Florida, USA, 2002-2004.

International Scientific Collaborations:

October through November 1988, training and joint study on vestibulo-visual interactions and dynamic posturography in Jenks Vestibular Laboratory, Harvard University, School of Medicine (Boston, MA, USA).
October 1989 through January 1990, joint research in the Vestibular Laboratory of the Harvard University, School of Medicine (Boston, USA). Topics of research - investigation of the after image movement following vestibular stimulation; evaluation of bilateral vestibular hypofunction as measured by sinusoidal rotation and by dynamic posturography; dynamic posturography for the purpose of monitoring the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
March through September 1990, joint research in the Division of Physiology & Biophysics of the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas (USA) and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida (USA). Topic of research - influence of the gravity (pitch tilt) on the vertical optokinetic nystagmus and after-nystagmus (measured by ISCAN technique).
November 1990 through August 1991, joint research in Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurophysiology, Biomedical Engineering, Audiology, Anaesthesiology and Balance Lab of the Link?ping University Hospital, Sweden. Topics of research - influence of the motion sickness, caloric vestibular stimulations, skin caloric, auditory and visual stimuli on skin blood flow (measured by laser Doppler technique) and perspiration of normal subjects, patients under general anesthesia and patients with Parkinson disease. Habituation of the autonomic reflexes.
March through April 1993, collaboration in NASA-USRA, Division for Space Life Sciences, Houston, USA. Topic of the collaboration: Diagnostic criteria for grading the severity of motion sickness - ANS aspect.
July 1993 through January 1994, joint research in Freiburg University, Neurologic Clinic, Freiburg, Germany. Topic of the research: visual-vestibular-proprioceptive interactions in self- and object motion perception (and modeling the perception).
October 1995 through December 1997, joint research in NASA, Johnson Space Center. Topic of the research: Eye and head coordination. Space sickness, spatial orientation and disorientation. The collaboration continues at present.
December 1999 through April 2000, joint research in Ludwig-Maximilians University, Neurologic Clinic, Munich, Germany. Topic of research - vestibulo (sacculo)-colic and vestibulo-postural reflexes in normal subjects and patients with bilateral vestibular deficit (EMG and Kinematics of head, body and legs).
September 2002 - through January 2004, joint research in Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida (USA), conducting 3 projects on visual, vestibular, somatosensory, and auditory interactions.
2005 through 2007 joint research in the Laboratory of Physiology of Perception of College de France, CNRS, Paris, (France). (Seven visits during the aforementioned period). Grant from the French Space Agency CENTRE NATIONAL D'ETUDES SPATIALES (CNES) - granted joint project: "Effets des variations de gravit? sur de le controle de la locomotion humaine". Topic of research - changes in locomotion pattern during different conditions of walking, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
2008 February through March - Harvard Medical School, Vestibular Physiology Laboratory, on perceptual threshold for self-motion perception in condition of sensory interaction during vertical axis rotation.
2008 December through April 2009 - Harvard Medical School, Vestibular Physiology Laboratory, on perceptual threshold for self motion perception in condition of sensory interaction comparing rotation in earth horizontal and earth vertical axis rotation - for normal humans and patients with bilateral vestibular deficit.

Professional affiliations:

Honorary Member of the Bulgarian National Academy of Medicine (Elected March 2, 2005).
Member of the Barany Society (since 1987). Participant in the Barany Society Meetings in Tokyo (Japan) 1990; in Prague (Czechoslovakia) 1992; in Uppsala (Sweden) 1994 and 2006; in Sydney (Australia) 1996; in Paris 2004; in Uppsala (Sweden) 2006, in Kyoto (Japan) 2008, Reykjavik (Iceland) 2010, and Uppsala (Sweden) 2012.
Foreign member of the American Society for Neuroscience (1990).
Member of the International Brain Research Organization (1991).
Invited participant of the International, Neurootological & Equilibriometric Society Meetings: Bad Kissingen (Germany) - 1984, 1986 and 1988; New Orleans (USA) - 1985, Sao Paulo (Brazil) - 1987.
Member of the Bulgarian Societies of Neurology.
Member of editorial board of:

• Journal of Bulgarian Neurology;
• Journal of Cerebrovascular disease;
• Journal of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery.

Awards:

1. October 2000 - Medal from Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, for Scientific Contribution 1999-2000.
2. March 2004 - Scientific Achievement Award from Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Pensacola, Florida, USA, Recognition for Research on Multi-Sensory Integration for Orientation in Space. Plaque.
3. October 2004 - Commendation - for outstanding support provided to U.S. Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Pensacola, Florida as a distinguished visiting scientist (2002-2004). Serving as a Co-Principal Investigator and collaborating scientist with NASA. For successful completion of the "Vestibular -Visual-Tactile-Auditory Interaction for Sensory Integration in the Orientation in Space" project which will improve pilot orientation during flight and reduce mortality rates due to spatial orientation mishaps.
Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Florida, USA.
4. June 2003 - Award from NASA, Houston, Texas, USA, for scientific contribution for NASA Space Flights, USA.
5. February 2014 - NASA Certificate of excellence, for 22 years scientific contribution for NASA Space Flights, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Scientific publications:

over 90, 31 of them in international journals

Language:

English and Russian very good.

Curriculum Vitae