The Annual Meeting of the National Research Center for Biomedical and Applied Research (NUKBPI) and the National Biobanking Hub BBMRI.bg, part of the European infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC, was held on December 8, 2025 in Sofia. Over 50 scientists and guests from MU-Sofia and MU-Plovdiv participated.
Prof. Dr. Radka Kaneva, DB, Head of the Center for Molecular Medicine and National Coordinator of BBMRI.bg was the moderator of the event. She presented the activities of the Center for Molecular Medicine and the achievements related to biobanking, as well as the participation in national and international projects, such as EvolveBBMRI, ERDERA, Genome of Europe.
The meeting was attended by Prof. Krasimira Yoncheva, PhD, Deputy Rector for Science and Accreditation of MU-Sofia and Prof. Dr. Ventsislava Pencheva-Genova, MD, Deputy Rector for International Integration and Project Financing. Greetings to the participants were delivered by Acad. Prof. Dr. Vanyo Mitev, PhD, Coordinator of the NUKBPI project and Prof. Yoncheva – on behalf of the Rector of MU-Sofia.
Milena Glavcheva, Chief Expert from the Science Directorate at the Ministry of Education and Science, greeted the participants and emphasized the importance of NUKBPI as a leading infrastructure in the biomedical field of the National Roadmap of Scientific Infrastructures, and in particular the role of BBMRI.bg in accelerating cooperation, increasing the visibility and participation of Bulgaria in the European Space for Science and Innovation.
Within the framework of the program, Prof. Ivanka Dimova, MD, Head of the Genomic Diagnostics Laboratory presented the development and activities of the unit on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its establishment.
The achievements of the biobanks at MU-Plovdiv and MU-Sofia were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolay Mehterov, DB and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihail Petrov, MD, MSM. Svetomir Hitov presented the establishment of the National Genomic Data Hub within the framework of the GDI project.
Tsvetana Kerelska, Manager of the “Genome of Bulgaria”, which is part of the “Genome of Europe”, spoke about the media campaign and reported on the achievements in collecting volunteers for the project. The participants joined a discussion on the possibilities for expanding the BBMRI.bg biobanking network and recruiting volunteers, as well as issues related to the analysis, storage and security of genomic data. The need to popularize genomic medicine among the population and medical specialists was also discussed.
