Elisaveta Voynova
Bethesda,MD
Summary
A highly-motivated biomedical scientist with a track record of innovation and discoveries in the field of immunology, cancer and autoimmunity. Strong leadership abilities to independently initiate, design, troubleshoot and lead rigorous research projects. More than 15-year hands-on experience in various immunological and bioanalytical assays, seamlessly utilizing the latest technological advances to further research and development. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy. Detail-oriented team player with strong organizational and communication ad management skills.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Scientist
CRCC, National Cancer Institute, NIH (Kelly GS)
07.2022 - Current
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Manage the immunophenotyping unit of the NCI’s Clinical Research Correlatives Core.
- Support of clinical research trials by providing molecular and cellular analysis.
- Simultaneously managed several complex projects, meeting all pertinent milestones.
- Serving as peer reviewer for Elsevier publisher, also as guest editor for International Journal of Molecular Science.
- Documented changes during experiments, noting unexpected issues arising during research activities.
- Consulted with researchers to analyze problems, recommend technology-based solutions and determine computational strategies.
- Trained new employees on areas of technical expertise and compliance issues relevant to lab setting.
- Supervised biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
- Organize lab meetings
- Write standard operating procedure (SOP) protocols and documents
Scientist
T-cell Engineering Facility, NCI, NIH (Kelly GS)
03.2020 - 07.2022
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Develop CAR-NK cell platform for pre-clinical treatment of T cell malignancies.
- Design, generating and characterization of CAR-NK and CAR-T cells.
- Perform pre-clinical validation of immunotherapy in mouse models.
- Supervised biological technicians and technologists.
- Trained new employees on areas of technical expertise and compliance issues relevant to lab setting.
- Organize lab meetings and journal club
- Presenting at scientific conferences
Research Postdoctoral Fellow
Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity, AstraZeneca, USA
09.2015 - 04.2019
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Investigated role of immune checkpoint inhibitor (PD-1) on development of autoimmunity.
- Leading project on role of type one interferon and pattern recognition receptor signaling in autoimmunity.
- Identified different immune regulators controlling autoimmune response, including T and B interaction, GC formation and autoantibodies secretion
- Studied role of estrogen in development of Sjogren’s syndrome and Diabetes in mouse models.
- Organize Postdoctoral retreat conferences 2016.
- Maintained high levels of confidentiality to protect data quality and project research.
- Wrote and published peer-reviewed articles concerning findings and highlighted possible applications for findings.
- Collaborated with colleagues to gather research and publish findings.
Senior Research Associate
Medical Science & Computing, Inc., NIAID/NIH, USA
07.2013 - 03.2015
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Studied abnormal expression of microRNA in autoreactive B cells in murine lupus models
- Studied microRNA profile of synergy between BCR- with TLR-signaling.
- Synthesized data and wrote detailed reports to present research findings to stakeholders
- Requested or acquired equipment and supplies necessary for projects
- Served as Lead judge for Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium
- Judge for Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) competition
Research Visiting Fellow
Autoimmunity and Functional Genomics Section, NIAID/NIH, USA
03.2008 - 06.2013
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Discovered new cell subset of NK cells that incites autoreactivity and persistent inflammatory disease
- Preformed detailed morphologic, functional and gene expression profile analyses of aNK cells
- Studied mechanism of development of autoimmune disease in TLR7-induced systemic autoimmune disease
- Discovered that spontaneous activation of TLR7 leads to intrinsic B cell activation that process requires antigen specific T cell help.
- Collaborated with team to optimize workflow and achieve objectives.
- Conducted and evaluated research using cutting-edge technology
- Published research in numerous scientific journals
- Attended research seminars and collegiate meetings to discover and discuss new technologies and research.
Scientist I - III Level
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
05.2006 - 03.2008
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Designed and tested influenza DNA vaccine
- Leading project involving constructing and testing of chimeric antibody for selective silencing of targeted autoreactive B lymphocytes in mice lupus models by coupling dsDNA-mimicking peptides to rat anti-mouse FcγRIIb-binding monoclonal antibody
- Studied modified intravenous immunoglobulin preparation for experimental sepsis treatment.
- Simultaneously managed several complex projects, meeting all pertinent milestones.
- Supervised biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
- Trained new employees on areas of technical expertise and compliance issues relevant to lab setting.
- Participated in team projects, demonstrating ability to work collaboratively and effectively.
Biologist / PhD Student
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
05.2002 - 05.2006
Full time (40 hours/week)
- Developed novel approach for selective silencing of targeted autoreactive B lymphocytes in human lupus patients based on use of bi-specific chimeric antibodies that cross-link BCRs (B cell receptors) with pre-selected antigen-binding specificity with inhibitory types of receptors on surface of same disease-associated B lymphocyte
- Constructed protein engineered molecule made of copies of mimotope peptide DWEYSVWLSN coupled to monoclonal anti-CD35 antibody and successfully tested this novel approach for selective silencing of targeted autoreactive B lymphocytes in lupus patients in vitro
- Studied mechanisms involved in loss of tolerance to DNA in autoimmune diseases.
- Presented research results to interested parties via workshops, written reports, and publications in peer-reviewed journals.
- Skilled at working independently and collaboratively in team environment.
- Developed strong communication and organizational skills through working on group projects.
Education
PhD in Immunology - Immunology
Bulgarian Academy of Science
Sofia, Bulgaria03.2007
M. Sc. in Biology - Biology
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Sofia, Bulgaria01.2002
Skills
- Molecular and Cell biology techniques
- Immunological Assays
- Molecular and Immunology Analysis
- Genome editing
- Research Management
- Results Analysis
- Research/Lab management
- Research Methods
- Peer Reviewer for Scientific Journals
- Research and Experiments
- Scientific Journal Editor
- Multitasking across multiple projects and plans
- Building strategy to meet deadlines and measure project milestones
- Planning research projects and organizing experimental work
- Organizing journal clubs, lab meetings and scientific retreats
Awards
- Distinguished Achievement Award for 2023, Kelly Government Solutions, USA, 2023
- Recognition award for significant accomplishment in cancer field, Kelly Government Solutions, USA, 2022.
- Fellows Award for Research Excellence, Scientific Directors NIH, Office of Intramural Training and Education, Bethesda, USA, 2013.
- Dresden Prize on the Study of Autoantibodies, from the 7th Dresden Symposium on Autoantibodies, Dresden, Germany, September 2004. Association for the Advancement of Immune Diagnostics award recognizes every two years a young scientist up to age 35 for outstanding results on the research on autoantibodies.
- The European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) 3 months research training grant in laboratory of Prof. Anna Erdei, Department of Immunology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 2004 – Jan. 2005.
- Fellowship for School in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases, Clinical Immunology Society, Santa Fe NM, 14-18 March 2007.
- Trainee Abstract Award, Meeting for Young Rheumatologists Across Europe, Semmering, Austria, 2006.
- Trainee Abstract Award, International PhD symposium, Horizons in Molecular Biology, Gottingen, Germany, 2006.
- Travel grants for 16th European Congress of Immunology – ECI, Paris, France, September 6-9, 2006.
- Merit based scholarship award for excellent results, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 2000.
Professional Service
- Peer reviewer for Elsevier publisher - current
- Guest editor for International Journal of Molecular Science - current
- Organize Postdoctoral meeting 2016, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg MD
- Lead judge for Postbac Poster Day, May 1, 2014 at Bethesda Campus NIH
- Lead judge for 10th Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, January 14, 2014 at NIH
- Judge for the Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE) competition for 2014 at NIH
Mentoring Experience
- Andrew Nguyen, Intern, University of Maryland, 2018-05-01, 2018-09-30, AstraZeneca
- Philip Dugan, Undergraduate student, University of Maryland, 2013-01-01, 2014-12-31, NIAID/NIH
- Iliyana Dimitrova, Undergraduate student, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 2007-01-01, 2008-12-31, Bulgarian Academy of Science
- Nikolina Mihaylova, Biologist, 2004-01-01, 2005-12-31, Bulgarian Academy of Science
- Kalina Nikolova, Undergraduate student, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 2003-01-01, 2004-12-31, Bulgarian Academy of Science
Publications
• Voynova, E. Hawk, N. Flomerfelt, F.A. Telford, W.G. Gress, R.E.; Kanakry, J.A. Kovalovsky, D. Increased Activity of a NK-Specific CAR-NK Framework Targeting CD3 and CD5 for T-Cell Leukemias. Cancers 2022, 14, 524.
• Voynova, E., Kovalovsky, D. From Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation to Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy: Advances, Limitations and Future Perspectives. Cells 2021, 10, 2845.
• Damian Kovalovsky, Jeong Heon Yoon, Matthew G Cyr, Samantha Simon, Elisaveta Voynova, Christoph Rader, Adrian Wiestner, Julie Alejo, Stefania Pittaluga, Ronald E Gress. Siglec-6 is a target for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia, 2021, volume 35, pages2581–2591.
• Elisaveta Voynova, Floryna Lefebvre, Ariful Qadri, Sylviane Muller. Correction of autophagy impairment inhibits pathology in the NOD.H-2h4 mouse model of primary Sjögren’s syndrome. Journal of Autoimmunity, 2020, volume 108, 102418.
• Santosh K Panda, Valeria Facchinetti, Elisaveta Voynova, Shino Hanabuchi, Jodi L. Karnell, Richard Hannah, Roland Kolbeck, Rachel Ettinger, Miguel A Sanjuan, Yong-Jun Li. Galectin-9 blocks TLR7 mediated autoimmunity in a murine lupus model by inhibiting TLR7/9 signaling. J Clin Invest. 2018; 128(5):1873–1887
• Elisaveta Voynova, Tamer Mahmoud, Lucas T. Woods, Gary A. Weisman, Rachel Ettinger, Helen Braley-Mullen. Requirement for CD40/CD40L interactions for development of autoimmunity differs depending on specific checkpoint and costimulatory pathways. ImmunoHorizons 2018, 2 (1) 54-66.
• Jodi L. Karnell, Varsha Kumar, Jingya Wang, Shu Wang, Elisaveta Voynova, and Rachel Ettinger. Role of CD11c+ B cells in human health and disease. Cellular Immunology 2017, 321 (2017) 40–45.
• Elisaveta Voynova, Chen-Feng Qi, Bethany Scott and Silvia Bolland. Induction of inflammatory disease by adoptive transfer of an atypical NK cell subset. Cutting edge: J Immunol. 2015, Aug 1;195(3):806-9.
• Elisaveta N Voynova, Jeffrey Skinner and Silvia Bolland. Expansion of an atypical NK cell subset in mouse models of SLE, J Immunol. 2015 Feb 15;194(4):1503-13.
• Iglika K. Djoumerska-Alexieva, Lubka C. Roumenina, Anastas D. Pashov, Jordan D. Dimitrov, Elisaveta N. Voynova, Petya A. Dimitrova, Nina D. Ivanovska, Sandro Lindig, Clemens Bockmeyer, Maya Y. Hadzhieva, Zvetanka H. Stefanova, Catherine Fitting, Markus Bläss, Ralf Claus, Stephan von Gunten, Srini V. Kaveri, Jean-Marc Cavaillon, Michael Bauer and Tchavdar L. Vassilev. Intravenous Immunoglobulin with additionally induced polyspecificity improves survival in experimental sepsis and aseptic SIRS: Role of pleiotropic anti-inflammatory effects. Molecular Medicine, 2015, Vol. 21, Pages 1002-1010
• Elizabeth R. Walsh, Prapaporn Pisitkun, Elisaveta Voynova, Jonathan A. Deane, Bethany L. Scott. Rachel R. Caspi and Silvia Bolland. Dual signaling by innate and adaptive immune receptors is required for Tlr7-induced B-cell mediated autoimmunity. PNAS 2012 Oct 2; 109(40):16276-81.
• Kalina A. Nikolova, Nikolina M. Mihaylova, Elisaveta N. Voynova, Andrey I. Tchorbanov, Reinhard E. Voll, Tchavdar L. Vassilev. Selective silencing of autoreactive B lymphocytes - Following the Nature's way, Autoimmun Rev.2010, 9 (11), pp. 775-779.
• Djoumerska-Alexieva, Iglika; Dimitrov, Jordan; Voynova, Elisaveta; Lacroix-Desmazes, Sébastien; Kaveri, Srini; Vassilev, Tchavdar. Exposure of IgG to an acidic environment results in molecular modifications and in enhanced protective activity in sepsis. FEBS Journal 2010, 277 (14), pp. 3039-3050.
• Nikolova K, Mihaylova N, Voynova E, Kerekov N, Gesheva V, Prechl J, Nikolova M, Tchorbanov A. Re-establishing tolerance to DNA in humanized and murine models of SLE, Autoimmun Rev. 2010, 9 (7), pp. 499-502.
• Steve P. Crampton, Elisaveta Voynova and Silvia Bolland. Innate pathways to B-cell activation and tolerance. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2010, 1183, pp. 58-68.
• Mihaylova N, Voynova E, Tchorbanov A, Dolashka-Angelova P, Bayry J, Devreese B, Kaveri S, Vassilev T. Simultaneous engagement of FcgammaIIb and CD22 inhibitory receptors silences targeted B cells and suppresses autoimmune disease activity. Mol Immunol. 2009, Nov; 47(1):123-30.
• Elisaveta Voynova, Andrey Tchorbanov, Jozsef Prechl, Milena Nikolova, Marta Baleva, Anna Erdei, Tchavdar Vassilev. An antibody-based construct carrying DNA-mimotope and targeting CR1 (CD35) selectively suppresses human autoreactive B lymphocytes. Immunology Letters, 2008, Mar 15; 116(2):168-73.
• N. Mihaylova, E. Voynova, A. Tchorbanov, M. Nikolova, T. Todorov, L. Srebreva, H. Taskov, T. Vassilev. Selective silencing of disease-associated B-lymphocytes by chimeric molecules targeting their FcγIIb receptor. International immunology, 2008 20 (2), 165-175.
• Andrey I. Tchorbanov*, Elisaveta N. Voynova*, Nikolina M. Mihaylova*, Vihra M. Yomtova, Bor-Luen Chiang, Tchavdar L. Vassilev. Selective silencing of DNA-specific B lymphocytes delays lupus activity in MRL/lpr mice. Europ. J. Immunol. 2007 Dec; 37(12):3587-96.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
• A. Tchorbanov, E. Voynova, N. Mihaylova, K. Nikolova, J. Prechil, P. Capel. Modulation of the Immune response by Engineered or Gene engineered Chimeric Molecules. J BAS; 2007; 3; 27- 32.
• T. Vassilev, N. Mihaylova, E. Voynova, M. Nikolova, M. Kazatchkine and S. Kaveri. IgM-enriched human intravenous immunoglobulin suppresses T lymphocyte functions in vitro and delays the activation of T lymphocytes in hu-SCID mice. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 2006, vol. 145, page108.
• Ivanovska N, Tchorbanov A, Prechl J, Maximova V, Voynova E, Vassilev TL. Immunization with a DNA chimeric molecule encoding a hemagglutinin peptide and a scFv CD21-specific antibody fragment induces long-lasting IgM and CTL responses to influenza virus. Vaccine, 2006, 24, 1830-1837.
• EN Voynova, AI Tchorbanov, TA Todorov and TL Vassilev. Breaking of tolerance to native DNA in nonautoimmune mice by immunization with natural protein/DNA complexes. Lupus, 2005, 14, 543-550.
Timeline
Scientist
CRCC, National Cancer Institute, NIH (Kelly GS)
07.2022 - Current
Scientist
T-cell Engineering Facility, NCI, NIH (Kelly GS)
03.2020 - 07.2022
Research Postdoctoral Fellow
Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmunity, AstraZeneca, USA
09.2015 - 04.2019
Senior Research Associate
Medical Science & Computing, Inc., NIAID/NIH, USA
07.2013 - 03.2015
Research Visiting Fellow
Autoimmunity and Functional Genomics Section, NIAID/NIH, USA
03.2008 - 06.2013
Scientist I - III Level
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
05.2006 - 03.2008
Biologist / PhD Student
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
05.2002 - 05.2006
PhD in Immunology - Immunology
Bulgarian Academy of Science
M. Sc. in Biology - Biology
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Similar Profiles
Edmund RobertsEdmund Roberts
Lab Researcher at NIH NIA CARD, National Institute of Health, NIHLab Researcher at NIH NIA CARD, National Institute of Health, NIH
Mabel Tsahey-OkrakuMabel Tsahey-Okraku
Senior Security Consultant at Guidehouse - National Institute of Health (NIH)Senior Security Consultant at Guidehouse - National Institute of Health (NIH)
Nayyab KhalidNayyab Khalid
Intern at National Institute of Health, NIHIntern at National Institute of Health, NIH