Foreign speakers
Professor Andrew Finlay is a name of worldwide renown, recognized for his efforts in transforming dermatology into a patient-centered specialty focused on improving quality of life. He will remain in the history of dermatology as the author of some of the most commonly used “tools” of modern dermatologists, such as the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the rule of tens (BSA>10, PASI>10, DLQI>10) for distinguishing patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, and the so-called “fingertip unit.”
Professor Finlay is a clinical dermatology lecturer at the Cardiff School of Medicine. He has received numerous awards for his exceptional contributions to modern medicine and is an honorary member of 7 and a member of 6 national and European dermatological societies. He has delivered over 120 lectures as an invited speaker in the United Kingdom and over 200 as an invited speaker worldwide, including honorary lectures such as the Dowling Oration (2000), Hebra Lecture in Austria (2003), Albert Neisser Lecture in Poland (2007), and World Congress plenary lecture in Seoul (2011). He participates in editorial boards and governing councils of numerous scientific journals and medical societies. He is the author of over 400 scientific articles with an H-Index (Google Scholar) of 74.
Professor Sven Malte John is the chair of the Department of Dermatology and Environmental Medicine at the University of Osnabrück. As a leading expert in the field of occupational dermatology and allergology, Prof. Malte John’s scientific interests include the scientific evaluation of systematic interdisciplinary approaches for the prevention of occupational skin diseases with a focus on worker education strategies (the “Osnabrück model”). This concept has been implemented throughout Germany with proven success. He has been an expert for the WHO and ILO for many years.
Prof. Malte John is the chair of the Working Group on Occupational Skin Diseases of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), participates in scientific committees on occupational dermatoses, and coordinates international prevention projects. He works on developing and implementing European standards for the prevention of occupational skin diseases, from irritant and allergic contact dermatitis to occupational skin cancer. Prof. Malte John is a candidate for the presidency of the Bulgarian-German Dermatological Society.
Professor Peter Elsner is an honorary professor of dermatology at the Friedrich Schiller University Hospital in Jena, Germany. His scientific interests include occupational dermatoses, contact dermatitis, dermatotoxicology, dermatopharmacology, and non-invasive methods in dermatology. He has authored more than 700 scientific articles in Medline and edited over 20 books. He participates in national and international research in the field of dermatoepidemiology, as well as clinical studies on contact dermatitis and hand dermatitis.
Professor Elsner is a board member of the German Dermatological Society (DDG) and is currently the president of the International Society of Dermatology in the Tropics (ISDT). Additionally, he has previously served as president of the International Society for Bioengineering of the Skin (ISBS) and the German Working Group on Occupational Dermatology (ABD). He joined the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG) in 1999 and currently serves as the secretary. He is also a member of the German Contact Dermatitis Group and the European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD).
Professor Elsner has been a longstanding president of the Bulgarian-German Dermatological Society, and under his leadership, many Bulgarian dermatologists have worked and trained in Germany.
Professor Peter Kol is the head of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at Vivantes University Hospital, affiliated with the Charité Medical University in Berlin. He is a graduate of Heidelberg University and has specialized at universities in the United States, Hungary, and Belgium. He is the author of 155 scientific papers with impact factors. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Dermatology of the United Kingdom and the International Dermatology Society.
With his assistance, specialists from Bulgaria have specialized in Germany. Professor Kol is a longtime friend of Bulgarian dermatology, having participated in numerous trainings and innovative surgical techniques, including in Bulgaria.
- Extraordinary Professor of Dermatology and Venereology
- Honorary Doctor of Trakia University Stara Zagora
- Dermatologist, Venereologist, Allergologist, Dermato-Surgeon, Dermato-
Pathologist - Born in Szeged, high school graduation in Stuttgart, Medical studies in
Liège, Aachen and Bonn. - 3 years of laboratory training at the Institute for Immunology and
Serology of the University of Heidelberg, 1 year research training at the
University of Washington in Seattle. - 13 years at the Dept. of Dermatology and Venereology of the University
of Heidelberg, 20 years director of the Dept. of Dermatology and
Venereology of the Vivantes hospital chain in Berlin, academic teaching
hospital of Charité University Medicine Berlin, presently working in
private practice in Berlin. - 12 years close collaboration with the Department of Dermatology and
Venereology of Trakia University Stara Zagora (Prof. Evgenia
Hristakieva) in the field of Dermato-Surgery of Acne inversa/Hidradenitis
suppurativa.
Professor Joachim Fluhr is a lecturer in the Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He is involved in clinical teaching of dermatology, allergology, and immunology in the MD program at Charité and organizes courses on skin physiology and immunology.
He has extensive experience in scientific research on the epidermal barrier and its functions related to various dermatological conditions and cosmetic sciences. His current research activities focus on understanding the regulatory role of mast cells in epidermal barrier function, as well as on the issue of sensitive skin. He has authored over 160 publications (h-index 54).
Professor Falk Behara, a renowned skin surgeon and former president of the German Society of Dermatologic Surgery (DGDC), has played a leading role in numerous scientific studies and has been appointed as an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Ruhr University in Bochum. In 2014, he worked as the head of the Department of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery.
Professor Falk Behara possesses exceptional expertise in the treatment of skin tumors, wounds, and suppurative hidradenitis (inverse acne). He practices at the Catholic Clinic in Bochum, utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic methods such as conventional and videodermatoscopy, ultrasound skin imaging, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Professor Ivana Binich is the head of the Clinic for Skin and Venereal Diseases in Niš, where she has worked for over 30 years and achieved numerous clinical successes. She has been a professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš since 2005 and is a member of several prestigious medical associations, including the International League of Dermatologists, the European Association of Clinical Researchers (EACR), the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), the European Society of Cosmetic and Aesthetic Dermatology (ESCAD), the Serbian Association of Dermatovenereologists, and the Association of Serbian Phlebologists. She is the president of ASKED and an honorary member of the Association of Macedonian and Bulgarian Dermatologists.
Professor Binich has published a large number of professional and scientific articles in reputable medical journals.
Professor Andrey Petrov is the head of the Department of Dermatovenereology and Aesthetic Dermatology at Acibadem Sistina Hospital.
He is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Medical Sciences – UGD in Stip, where he teaches dermatovenereology, medical ethics, and healthcare management. Since 2019, he has been the head of the general medicine program at the Faculty of Medical Sciences – UGD in Stip. He actively participates in organizing and attending international conferences and symposiums. He is the author of numerous scientific and professional works.
Professor Petrov is a member of several professional associations, including the Medical Chamber of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Association of Dermatovenereologists of Macedonia, the American Academy of Dermatology, the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, the World Dermoscopy Association, and the European Society of Aesthetic and Cosmetic Dermatology.
Professor Iliya Lefterov from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, holds a doctoral degree from the Medical Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He specialized in prenatal diagnosis of hereditary diseases at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, human molecular genetics at the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Göttingen, Germany, and molecular pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Bernadette De Silva is a Consultant Dermatologist at Luton & Dunstable University Hospital, with a special interest in pediatric dermatology and inflammatory skin disease. She holds an MBBS and FRCP qualification, and she serves as the Lead Clinician and Skin Cancer Lead at the hospital. Dr. De Silva received her training in London and Edinburgh, joining Luton & Dunstable University Hospital in 2001. Her expertise lies in managing skin conditions, particularly in children and patients with inflammatory skin diseases.
Jacek Cezary Szepietowski is a Polish dermatologist and venereologist , professor of medical sciences, honorary doctor . Head of the Department and Clinic of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology of the Medical University of Warsaw. Piastów Śląskich in Wrocław, president of the Polish Dermatological Society (2008–2016 and from 2023). His main scientific interests are pruritus , psychodermatology, hidradenitis suppurativa and clinical immunology with particular emphasis on chronic skin inflammation.
Assoc. Prof. Stanislava Tzaneva is the Head of the Phlebologic-Angiological Unit of the University Clinic of Dermatology, Vienna, Austria, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. She graduated in medicine from the Stara Zagora Faculty of Medicine. Dermatologist, Specialist for venous diseases and vascular medicine, Member of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Member of the Board of the Austrian Society of Phlebology and Dermatological Angiology, Member of Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology, Member of Austrian Society of Dermatosurgery, Member of the Austrian Working Group Aesthetic Dermatology and Cosmetology, Member of the Austrian Working Group Photo Medicine.
Dr. Wolfgang Hegenbarth is a specialist in dermatology and venereology , Senior physician at the Clinic for Dermatology at Vivantes-KH Berlin-Neukölln, Head of Dermatosurgery, Additional qualification in dermatohistology, allergology,Locum Consultant Dermatologist in Great Britain, practice representation in Berlin,Private practice in the City Praxen.
- Dermatologist, Venerologist, Allergologist, Dermato-Surgeon, Dermato-Pathologist
- Born in Berlin, high school graduation in Dortmund
Studied Biology and Medicine in Muenster, Bochum, Greifswald and Berlin
PhD at Institut for Forensic Medicine at Freie Universitaet Berlin - Assistent Doctor in Dermatology at Ernst Morizt Arndt University Greifswald
- Specialist in Dermatology at Vivantes Hospital Berlin Friedrichshain
- Senior consultant Dermatologist at Vivantes Hospital Berlin Neukoelln, Devision of Dermato-Surgery
- Subspecialisation in Dermato-Pathology
- Locum consultant Dermatologist in the UK, NHS England and NHS Scotland
- Currently working at CityPraxen Berlin (https://www.citypraxen.de/) as Dermatologist, Dermato-
Surgeon and Dermatopathologist in private care
Dr. Friderike J. Benzel is a specialist in skin and venereal diseases, Senior physician at the Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain Clinic for Dermatology and Phlebology, , Head of Dermatosurgery
- Dermato-surgeon, dermatologist, dermato-pathologist
- 2002 – 2009 medical studies in Berlin, Charité University Hospital and Barcelona,
Universitat Autónoma - 2007 – 2012 PhD in neuro-immunology, department of neurology, Charité University
Hospital Berlin - 2009 – 2010 Resident at medical practice Dr. Adler
- 2010 – 2015 Resident at department of dermatology and venereology, Vivantes
Hospital Berlin Neukoelln - 2016 – 2017 Senior physician at department of dermatology and venereology,
Vivantes Hospital Berlin Neukoelln - 2017 – 2018 Dermato-surgery, plastic surgery and aesthetic dermatology in private
medical clinic, Dermatologikum Berlin - 2018 Sub-speciality in dermato-pathology
- 2018 to date senior physician at department of dermatology and phlebology,
Vivantes Hospital Berlin Friedrichshain, specialised in dermato-surgery
Dr. Karin Vogt is a specialist in Dermatology and Venereology, Additional qualifications: Phlebology, Ultrasonography of the extremity vessels, Allergology, Emphases: Conservative and surgical phlebology, Dermatosurgery
Prof. Suzanna Nikolovska (North Macedonia)
Bulgarian speakers
Corresponding Member Prof. Nikolay Tsankov, DMSc.
Prof. Evgenia Khristakieva, MD
Prof. Miroslava Kadurina, DMSc.
Prof. Dimitar Gospodinov, DMSc.
Prof. Razvigor Darlenski, DMSc.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Karen Manuelyan, MD
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zhana Kazandzhieva, MD
Assoc. Prof. Ivelina Yordanova, MD
Assoc. Prof. Rumyana Yankova, MD
Assoc. Prof. Valentina Broshtilova, MD
Assoc. Prof. Iva Gavrilova, MD
Dr. Tanya Gancheva, MD
Dr. Radostina Deliyska
Dr. Miroslav Dragolov
Prof. Yulian Ananiev, MD
Dr. Dragomir Dardanov
Dr. Alen Petrov