Dr. Yana Ilieva is currently a Chief Assistant Professor at the Department of Infectious Microbiology, at The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria. A molecular biologist and microbiologist, she is a member of the Bulgarian Society for Microbiology (Union of Scientists in Bulgaria). She earned her Ph.D. from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Medical University of Sofia, where she worked in the field of phytochemistry and cytotoxicity. Her research interests are focused on the study of microbiota of small mammals; cytotoxicity; molecular biology; biochemistry; cyanobacteria; and eukaryotic microalgae.