Mariana Máčajová received her doctoral degree in Physiology and Ethology in 2004 at Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia) and, since 2000, has been a researcher at the Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on the use of the avian embryo in experimental practice as a replacement for mammalian models, particularly employing the Japanese quail CAM model to investigate angiogenesis, cancer, photodynamic diagnosis and therapy, and to develop novel biophotonic techniques.