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Academic career:

Since 2023 Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University

Since 2018 Professor in Theoretical Chemistry at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Sofia University, Bulgaria

Since 2018 Head of the Laboratory of Quantum and Computational Chemistry, Department of Physical Chemistry, Sofia University

Since 2018 Responsible for the M. Sc. program Computational Chemistry

2015-2023 Head of the General Assembly of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University

Since 2015 Responsible for the M. Sc. program Pharmacy

2013-2015 Vice-dean for M.Sc. education of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University

2009-2018 Associate Professor in Theoretical Chemistry at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Sofia University

2004-2009 Assistant Professor in Theoretical Chemistry at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Sofia University

2004 PhD in Physical Chemistry, Sofia University, Bulgaria

1999 M.Sc. in Chemical Physics and Theoretical Chemistry, Sofia University

 

Teaching:

Structure of matter – core B. Sc. course (lectures and seminars)

Quantum chemistry and chemical bonding – core B. Sc. course (lectures)

Chemical terms in English – core B. Sc. course (lectures)

Physical and colloid chemistry 1 – part of core M. Sc. course for Pharmacy major (lectures and seminars)

Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations – core M. Sc. course (lectures and seminars)

Molecular mechanics – core M. Sc. course (lectures and seminars)

Quantum chemistry of molecular systems – core M. Sc. course (seminars)

Application of statistics in molecular modelling – elective B. Sc. course (lectures and seminars)

Molecular modelling of pharmacophores – elective M. Sc. course for Pharmacy major (lectures)

 

Research and teaching periods abroad:

2018 Short-term teaching mobility within the Programme ERASMUS+, Comenius University of Bratislava, Faculty of Pharmacy, Host: Dr. Kristína Piatničková

2017 Short-term teaching mobility within the Programme ERASMUS+, University of Naples Federico II, Faculty of Pharmacy, Host: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serenella Seccia

2013, 2015, 2022 Short-term research visits at Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany, Host: Prof. Dr. Martin Baumgarten

2011 Humboldt Renewed research stay fellowship, Host: Prof. Dr. Martin Baumgarten, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany

2006/2007 Humboldt Research fellowship host: Prof. Dr. Notker Rösch, Technical University, Munich, Germany

2004, 2005 STSMs within COST P12 “Structuring of polymers”; host: Prof. Dr. Natalia Gospodinova, CNRS, Institute for Chemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces, Mulhouse, France

2001, 2002 Marie-Curie Fellowship, V Framework Program of the EU; host: Prof. Dr. Martin Baumgarten, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany

 

Research projects:

Study of the intermolecular interactions of folate receptor-a with folate-based vectors, Sofia University research fund, 2024 (coordinator)

COST Action CA21101 Confined Molecular Systems: from a New Generation of Materials to the Stars (COSY), 2022-2026 (participant)

Development of efficient OLED emitters by directed tuning of excited states, National research fund, 2020-2023 (coordinator)

Drug-peptide vectors: efficiency through knowledge, National Science Fund of Bulgaria, 2016-2019 (coordinator)

Materials Networking, H2020 project No 692146, 2016-2019 (work package leader)

Determination of the energy barrier for translocation of a drug-peptide complex across a cell membrane modelled by atomistic molecular dynamics, Sofia University Research Fund, 2017 (coordinator)

FP7 Project BeyondEverest, 2011-2015 (group leader)

Electric and Electrochemical Properties of Liquid Surfaces, National Science Fund of Bulgaria, 2010-2014 (participant)

Reversible Nanotransporters across Fluid Interfaces, National Science Fund of Bulgaria, 2008-2012 (participant)

Polyaniline as a Component of a Wide Variety of Modern Nanomaterials – A Challenge to Theory and Experiment, National Science Fund of Bulgaria, 2006-2011 (participant)

Development of an atomistic molecular-mechanics model of a liquid oil phase of low molecular weight alkanes, Sofia University Research Fund, 2012 (coordinator)

Influence of the Chemical Composition and of the Environment on the Structure and Properties of the Antimicrobial Peptide Arenicin-1, Sofia University Research Fund, 2011 (coordinator)

Electric and Structural Characteristics of diluted aqueous solutions of the non-ionogenic surfactant hexa(ethyleneglycol)dodecylether С12(ЕО)6, Sofia University Research Fund, 2009 (coordinator)

Ab Initio (DFT) study of metal-organic spin hybrid structures with potential application for information storage, Sofia University Research Fund, 2008 (coordinator)

FP7 Action COST P-12 “Structuring of Polymers”, European Commission, 2004-2007 (participant)

Systematic study of ВС, BNC and BCN clusters as building blocks of ВС and BCN nanotubes, Sofia University Research Fund, 2006 (coordinator)

Structure and Dielectric Properties of Monolayers – Factors in Monitoring of Water Basins Contamination, National Science Fund of Bulgaria, 2003-2006 (participant)

Theoretical Study of Insoluble Monolayers at Molecular Level, Sofia University Research Fund, 2002-2003 (participant)

 

BioExcel Ambassador

 

HPC Projects:

Phase behaviour of green surfactants studied by molecular dynamics simulations, Discoverer project, 2024-2025 (coordinator)

Impact of counterions on the behaviour of anionic surfactants at the oil-water interface assessed by molecular dynamics simulations, Discoverer project, 2023-2024 (coordinator)

Freezing mechanism of alkane drops revealed by molecular dynamics, Swiss National Supercomputing Centre project, 2022-2023 (coordinator)

Molecular dynamics modelling of the supramolecular organization of biological surfactants and drug molecules in solution, PRACE-ICEI project, 2021-2022 (coordinator)

Molecular dynamics modelling of the supramolecular organization of natural and synthetic surfactants in bulk and at soft interfaces, EUSMI project, 2021 (coordinator)

Computational characterization of the supramolecular reorganization of alkanes upon cooling, PRACE-ICEI project, 2020-2021 (coordinator)

Physicochemical characterization of the natural and synthetic surfactant systems with unique properties caused by specific interactions, VI-SEEM project, 2018 (ръководител)

Molecular description of the rheological properties of natural and synthetic surfactants at the air-water interface, VI-SEEM project, 2017 (coordinator)

Multiscale computations to reveal the potential of molecular drug carriers, VI-SEEM project, 2017 (coordinator)

 

National and International Educational Projects:

Horizon Europe Project “Activating Students in Online Classes” 2020-1-PL01-KA226-HE-096358, 2020-2022 (participant)

Development of electronic didactic aids for distance education at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgarian Ministry of education and Science, 2013-2015 (participant)

Building of interdisciplinary teams of young researchers in the area of fundamental and applied research relevant to medicinal practice, EC OP “Human potential development”, 2013-2015 (participant)

 

Scientific memberships:

Since 2021: Scientific council of the supercomputer Discoverer, SofiaTechPark, Bulgaria

Since 2018: Marie Curie Alumni Association, Bulgaria Chapter

Since 2008: Humboldt Alumni Network

Since 2008: Humboldt Union in Bulgaria

2012-2015: Editor for the Bulgarian Journal of Chemistry

 

Councils and panels:

Since 2023: Academic council of Sofia University

Since 2023: Council of Deans of Sofia University

Since 2011: Faculty Council of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy

Since 2013: Didactic Commission of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy

Since 2013: Expert for the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency

 

Co-Organized Symposia and Workshops:

CECAM Flagship Workshop "Peptides in biology and materials: bridging simulation and experimental data", Florence, Italy, 2024

Scientific session of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy of Sofia University, Sofia, 2023

Jubilee Conference „10 years of education in Pharmacy at the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy“, Sofia, 2022

Prace autumn school 2021: Fundamentals of biomolecular simulations and virtual drug development, online, 2021

Workshops “Advanced Materials” I, II, III, IV within the project Materials Networking – 2016 (Velingrad), 2017 (Nesseber), 2018 (Pomorie), 2019 г. (St. St. Konstantin and Helena)

15th deMon Developers Workshop, Sofia, 2015

Jubilee Conference “125 years of education in mathematics, informatics and natural sciences at the Sofia University”, Sofia, 2014

QSCP VI, Sixth European Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics, Sofia, 2001

 

Research interests:

  • Structure and molecular-level mechanism of action of components for drug delivery systems
  • Structure and optical properties of organic light-emitting molecules
  • Self-organization and molecular characteristics of heterogeneous systems at interfaces
  • Molecular magnetism of hybrid-spin complexes
  • Development and validation of problem-specific computational protocols based on classical and quantum chemical simulations

 

Textbooks and Teaching Aids:

  1. English Translation of High School Textbooks in Chemistry and Environmental Protection, IX and X grade, Anubis, Sofia, Bulgaria, 2003
  2. E-lectures Applied Computational Chemistry
  3. E-lectures Molecular Mechanics Force Fields for Modeling of Biomolecules and Basic concepts from Quantum mechanics for Theoretical chemistry (part of the course)
  4. E-lectures Physical and Colloid Chemistry 1 (part of the course)

 

Selected Publications:

  1. Stanimirov, S.; Djumayska, S.; Todorova, N.; Mutovska, M.; Konstantinov, K.; Petrova, P.; Tomova, R.; Ivanov, P.; Ivanova, G.; Stoyanov, S.; Spassov, T.; Trifonov, A.; Buchvarov, I.; Baumgarten, M.; Ivanova, A. and Zagranyarski, Y. (2024): TADF Blue Emitters with Balanced πConjugation Design, Synthesis, Spectral Characterization, and a Model OLED with 8(5(tert-Butyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)N,Nbis(4(tertbutyl) phenyl)dibenzo[b,d]furan-2-amine. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 128, 5100-5114
  2. Tsibranska, S.; Iliev, S.; Ivanova, A.; Aleksandrov, N.; Tcholakova, S. and Denkov, N. (2024): Types of phases obtained by molecular dynamics simulations upon freezing of hexadecane-containing systems. Colloids and Surfaces A - Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 697, 134466
  3. Iliev, S.; Tsibranska, S.; Ivanova, А.; Tcholakova, S. and Denkov, N. (2023): Computational assessment of hexadecane freezing by equilibrium atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 638, 743-757
  4. Ivanova, G.; Bozova, N.; Petkov, N.; An, C.; Hu, B.; Mutovska, M.; Konstantinov, K.; Zagranyarski, Y.; Videva, V.; Yordanova, A.; Baumgarten, M. and Ivanova A. (2022): Benchmarking of density functionals for the description of optical properties of newly synthesized π-conjugated TADF blue emitters. Chemistry – A European Journal, e202104411
  5. Wilson, C. G.; Aarons, L.; Augustijns, P.; Brouwers, J.; Darwich, A. S.; De Waal, T.; Garbacz, G.; Hansmann, S.; Hoc, D.; Ivanova, A.; Koziolek, M.; Reppas, Ch.; Schick, Ph.; Vertzoni, M. and García-Horsman, J. A. (2022): Integration of advanced methods and models to study drug absorption and related processes: An UNGAP perspective. European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 172, 106100
  6. Schaber, E. N.; Ivanova, N.; Iliev, S.; Petrova, J.; Gocheva, G.; Madjarova, G. and Ivanova, A. (2021): Initial stages of spontaneous binding of folate-based vectors to folate receptor-α observed by unbiased molecular dynamics. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125, 7598-7612
  7. Exner, K. S. and Ivanova, A. (2020): Identifying a gold nanoparticle as a proactive carrier for transport of a doxorubicin-peptide complex. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 194, 111155
  8. Gocheva, G.; Ivanova, N.; Iliev, S.; Petrova, J.; Madjarova, G. and Ivanova, A. (2020): Characteristics of a folate receptor-α anchored into a multilipid bilayer obtained from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 16, 749-764
  9. Gocheva, G. and Ivanova, A. (2019): A look at receptor-ligand pairs for active-targeting drug delivery from crystallographic and molecular dynamics perspectives. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 16, 3293-3321
  10. Hu, B.-L.; An, C.; Wagner, M.; Ivanova, G.; Ivanova, A. and Baumgarten, M. (2019) Three-Dimensional Pyrene-Fused N Heteroacenes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 141, 5130-5134
  11. Iliev, S.; Gocheva, G.; Ivanova, N.; Atanasova, B.; Petrova, J.; Madjarova, G. and Ivanova, A. (2018): Identification and Computational Characterization of Isomers with cis and trans Amide Bonds in Folate and Analogues. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 20, 28818-28831
  12. Ivanova, N. and Ivanova, A. (2018): Testing the limits of model membrane simulations-bilayer composition and pressure scaling. Journal of Computational Chemistry, 39, 387-396
  13. Valchanov, G.; Ivanova, A.; Tadjer, A.; Chercka, D. and Baumgarten, M. (2016): Understanding the fluorescence of light-emitting dyes. The Journal of Physical Chemistry А, 120, 6944–6955
  14. Tsoneva, Y.; Jonker, H. R. A.; Wagner, M.; Tadjer, A.; Lelle, M.; Peneva, K.; Ivanova, A. (2015): Molecular Structure and Pronounced Conformational Flexibility of Doxorubicin in Free and Conjugated State within a Drug–Peptide Compound. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 119, 3000−3013
  15. Zahariev, T. K.; Slavchov, R. I.; Tadjer, A. V.; Ivanova, A. N. (2014): Fully Atomistic Molecular-Mechanical Model of Liquid Alkane Oils: Computational Validation. Journal of Computational Chemistry, 35, 776–788
  16. Valchanov, G.; Ivanova, A.; Tadjer, A.; Chercka, D. and Baumgarten, M. (2013): Tuning the Optical Absorption of Potential Blue Emitters. Organic Electronics, 14, 2727–2736
  17. Ivanova, A.; Romanova, J.; Tadjer, A. and Baumgarten M. (2013): Magnetostructural Correlation in Mn(II) Hybrid-spin Complexes – Effect of Ligands and Geometry. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 117, 670-678
  18. Ivanova, A.; Jezierski, G.; Vladimirov E. and Rösch N. (2007): Structure of Rhodamine 6G-DNA Complexes from Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Biomacromolecules 8, 3429-3438
  19. Ivanova, A., Baumgarten, M., Karabunarliev, S. and Tyutyulkov, N. (2003): Design of ferromagnetic alternating stacks of neutral and ion-radical hydrocarbons, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 5, 4932-4937

Full list of publications

 

Contact information:

Email: aivanova@chem.uni-sofia.bg

Phone: + 359 2 8161520

Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sofia,

1 J. Bourchier Blvd., 1164 Sofia, BULGARIA