Prof. Anjelika Spasova Velkova-Monova, MD, DSc

Biography:

Prof. Dr. Angelika Velkova-Monova graduated in Medicine from the Medical University – Pleven, where she began her academic career, successively holding the positions of Assistant, Senior Assistant, and Chief Assistant Professor. After defending her doctoral dissertation, she was appointed Associate Professor in 2003. In 2012, she obtained the Doctor of Medical Sciences degree and was subsequently elected Professor twice—at MU-Pleven (2012) and at MU-Sofia (2014). She holds a specialization in Social Medicine and Health Management, as well as a Master’s degree in Public Health Epidemiology from Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has also completed training and specializations in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the USA, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and other countries.

Prof. Velkova-Monova teaches Social Medicine in both Bulgarian and English to medical students and delivers three additional disciplines in Master’s and Bachelor’s programs across six specialties at the Faculty of Public Health “Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, DSc.” She has supervised 12 doctoral students to successful defense, over 150 Master’s graduates, and has acted as a scientific consultant for 30 defended doctoral theses in various fields of clinical medicine. She has been the author and lead coordinator of three EU- funded educational and infrastructure projects, as well as principal investigator and team member in eight institutional and five international research and educational projects.

She has served four terms as Head of Department and has held numerous academic leadership positions, including Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Public Health, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at MU-Pleven, member of the Control Council and the Medical Science Council of MU-Sofia, and Vice-Dean for International Activities and Projects at the Faculty of Public Health. Since 2024, she has been serving as Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at the Medical University – Sofia.

Prof. Velkova-Monova served as head of the department for 4 terms. She held the
the positions of Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Deputy Rector for International Affairs
cooperation at MU-Pleven. Prof. Velkova was a member of the Control Board and
Council of Medical Science of MU-Sofia, Deputy Dean for International Affairs and
projects of the Health Foundation "Prof. Dr. Tsekomir Vodenicharov, MD" and since 2024 is Vice-Rector for
the educational activities of the Medical University - Sofia.

Publications and research interests:
Her research focuses on comparative analyses of public health in European countries, preventable mortality, clinical epidemiology, and health promotion. She is the author and co- author of over 200 scientific publications in Bulgaria and abroad, three monographs (one published internationally), and seven textbooks and teaching materials. Her scientific works have been cited more than 600 times, including 527 citations by foreign authors, with an h- index of 9.

Membership in organizations:
Prof. Velkova-Monova is a member of the Bulgarian Medical Association, the Bulgarian National Association for Public Health, the National Association for Health Policy and Management, EUPHA, and EHMA. A certified quality auditor since 2004, she has served as an expert for the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) for 20 years. She is the recipient of numerous awards and academic distinctions, including the “Golden Panacea” of MU-Sofia for outstanding contributions to the field of medical and social sciences.