CPSBB was Presented in the Bulgarian Science Magazine, 09 December 2021

December 9, 2021
CPSBB Was Presented in the Bulgarian Science Magazine

The December’21 issue of the Bulgarian Science magazine presents some of the postdoctoral researchers and laboratory managers of CPSBB’s team – Dr. Gerganaza Zahmanova (Technology Transfer Department), Dr. Liliya Vasileva and Martina Savova (Plant Cell Biology Department), Dr. Ramadoss Dhanushkodi (Molecular Stress Physiology Department), and Dr. Rafe Lyall (Bioinformatics and Mathematical Modelling Department) as all these experts play a significant role for the realization of the PlantaSYST project and the establishment of the CPSBB. The presentation of CPSBB’s team is part of the campaign The Faces of Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth initiated by the Executive Agency “Programme Education” of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science.


Dr. Gergana Zahmanova is responsible for the technology transfer and the intellectual property at CPSBB. She evaluates the work of the researchers and whether their scientific achievements could be transferred and applied in industry. Currently, Dr. Zahmanova investigates the use of transit expression for the production of recombinant proteins in plants and the production of proteins for the development of vaccines and diagnostic reagents.


Dr. Lilya Mihaylova (Vasileva) current research is focused on the natural compounds that show biological activity against socially significant human diseases and in particular their influence on the mechanisms of obesity in fat cells.The in-depth analysis, thanks to the modern technologies at CPSBB, the collaboration with scientists from all over the world, and the opportunity to work under the guidance of world-renowned scientists lead to results that contribute to the development of science globally.


Martina Savova is responsible for the technical implementation of the planned experiments, as well as for the collection and summarization of the obtained data. She is currently conducting experimental work to study the effect of plant extracts and their metabolites on the accumulation of lipids in fat cells. The CPSBB’s team investigates stem cells and their potential transformation into healthy fat cells for replacing non-functioning adipose tissue in obesity and thus finding an approach to the treatment of socially significant diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Dr. Ramadoss Dhanushkodi studies model and vegetable plants in order to establish the genetic mechanisms for adaptation to adverse environmental conditions (abiotic stress). The research covers both model plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) and economically important crops, such as cucumber, lettuce and tomato.

Dr. Rafe Lyall’s research is aimed at the molecular basis of drought resistance in plants. He also analyzes plant genomes and processes data obtained from RNA sequencing. He is currently studying the mechanisms of drought resistance of plants that can lose all their water content, survive despite dehydration, and fully recover after watering. In Bulgaria such a plant is the protected plant species Haberlea rhodopensis and CPSBB dedicates significant research on it.

The PlantaSYST project and the construction of CPSBB is the biggest EU funded scientific project in the field of plant systems biology and biotechnology in Bulgaria. Researchers at the Center conduct cutting edge scientific research and CPSBB attracts talented scientists from Bulgaria and abroad. The researchers working at the CPSBB meet the opportunity to expand their expertise in various fields of plant science and to achieve world-class scientific accomplishments.

CPSBB has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, project PlantaSYST (SGA-CSA No. 739582 under FPA No. 664620), and the BG05M2OP001-1.003-001-C01 project, financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the “Science and Education for Smart Growth” Operational Programme.