Dr. Svetla Danova

Fulbright Alumna and Head of Laboratory at the Institute of Microbiology, BAS

Prof. Svetla Danova has graduated with honors in Molecular Biology and Biology and Chemistry from the Faculty of Biology, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. In 1997 she defended her doctoral dissertation. In 2015 she presented her Doctor of Science dissertation summarizing 20 years of research on beneficial bacteria – probiotics. Presently she is Head of Laboratory of Lactic Acid Bacteria & Probiotics at the Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Danova developed a career in the field of modern microbiological research of microorganisms with biotechnological and medical significance. She is a lecturer at international forums, leader and consultant of research projects and participant in  national and international projects on the problems of functional foods, food safety, microbes and health, probiotics and pathogen control. As a proven specialist in this field, she is the author of books, scientific publications in international and peer-reviewed journals. She is also a scientific supervisor of many successful PhD students in the field of microbiology.

Prof. Danova has specialized in France, Belgium and South Africa. In 2018, she was visiting Fulbright research scholar, with personal grant at the Institute of Healthcare Innovation – Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA with a project on New concept of probiotics – defining their parabiotic mechanisms.

Awards:

Award for High Scientific Achievements in the Field of Research of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Probiotics from the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria, 2009.

Award Pythagoras for Breakthrough in Science from the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Sience, 2021.