Education
2017 - 2023
PhD in Ecology
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Supervisor: Dr Holger Goerlitz
Dissertation: „Acoustic based predator-prey interactions of European bats and bushcrickets“
2010 - 2012
Master of Science
Ecology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria
Supervisor: Dr Björn Siemers
Master thesis: "Trophic niche specialization in two sibling bat species in an ancient site of coexistence"
2006 - 2010
Bachelor of Science
Ecology and Environmental Protection, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria
Professional Еxperience
2021
Marine Bioacoustics Lab, Aarhus University, Denmark
Station manager
Siemers Bat Research Station, Bulgaria
2008-2017
National Museum of Natural History, Bulgaria
Associate Researcher and Bat Specialist
Bat Research and Conservation Centre
2014-2015
University of Bristol, UK
Research assistant
Project: African Bat Conservation based in Liwonde National Park, Malawi; Advisor: Dr Emma Stone
2013
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
Intern
Project: Unlocking the Mysteries of Sleep – Improved Learning as a Shared Functional Benefit; Advisors: Dr Rachel Page and Dr Barrett Klein (University of Wisconsin)
2013
University of Bern, Switzerland
Visiting Scientist
Project: Niche release in an allopatric population of the lesser mouse-eared bat in Crete. Advisor: Prof. Raphaël Arlettaz
2008 - 2012
Sensory Ecology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany
Filed assistant
Tabachka Bat Research Station; Advisor: Dr Björn Siemers
2011-2012
Ministry of Environment and Waters, Bulgaria
Bat Specialist
Team leader, Project: Mapping of “Natura 2000” Sites in Bulgaria, Lot 5 - Bats
2012
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Hawaii, USA
Intern
Project: Habitat Selection in the Endangered Hawaiian Hoary Bat; Advisor: Dr Frank Bonaccorso
2008 - 2009
Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation
Bat Specialist
Project: Survey of the bat species diversity in Osogovska Planina Mountain
Grants and Awards
2020
Best presentation award 1st World Bat Twitter Conference #WBTC1
2017 - 2019
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Outstanding Young Scientists Research Grant
2018
DAAD short-term fellowship, Germany
2016
Distinguished as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of Bulgaria in the category “Moral and Environmental leadership”
2014-2015
Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation Travel Grant to Malawi, Africa
2014
British Ecological Society Travel Grant to Cambridge, UK
2012
Planning Solutions, Inc. Environmental Grant, Hawaii, USA
2010 - 2012
Governmental Graduate Study Scholarship
Conference Attendance
2020
1st World Bat Twitter Conference, online
2020
15th Annual Meeting of the Ethological Society, Tübingen, Germany
2020
German Bat Research Meeting, Chiemsee (Munich), Germany
2019
13th International Congress of Orthopterology, Agadir, Morocco
2018
Bats of Eastern Europe: challenges for conservation, Yerevan, Armenia, Oral presentation
2018
German Bat Research Meeting, Berlin, Germany, Poster presentation
2017
16th Invertebrate Sound and Vibration Meeting,
“Acoustic response of European bushcrickets to bat echolocation calls”, poster presentation
2015
Annual Selection Symposium of The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Organismal Biology, Germany,
“The challenge of coexistence” Oral presentation
2014
15th Student Conference on Conservation Science, Cambridge University, UK
“Bats – nightmare or night care?” Poster presentation
2013
16th International Bat Research Conference, San Jose, Costa Rica
“Is there something strange in the diet of Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii?” Poster presentation
2011
12th European Bat Research Symposium, Vilnius, Lithuania
“What do Southeast European mouse-eared bats eat?” Oral presentation
2009
11th Anniversary International Scientific Conference, University of Sofia, Bulgaria.
“Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Osogovska Planina Mountain”, Oral presentation
Invited Talks
2020
Ulm University, Germany
2021
Departnet of Animal Phisology, Aarhus University, Denmark
2020
Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Austria
2017
TEDx Sofia, Bulgaria
2010
European Parlament and the Royal Museum of Natural History, Brussels, Belgium
Administrative experience
2017 - 2019
Chair of the PhD Council of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
As part of a group representing the Bulgarian doctoral students, I negotiated with the Minister of Education an increase of the salaries of all PhD students in Bulgaria by 13%
2013 - 2019
Founder and coordinator of "Life Skills for Life Science"
Innovative extracurricular course for graduate and postgraduate students based at the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, Bulgaria. It includes Journal Clubs, seminars for carrier development, soft skills training and courses for programming skills for biologists.