Born in Knezha.
She completed her secondary education at the “Vasil Kolarov” High School – Knezha in 1986. She holds a Bachelor's degree (1994) and a Master's degree (1999) in Agroengineering, with a specialization in Plant Protection and Fertilization, as well as a teaching qualification. She obtained the academic degree of Doctor in 2006. She is proficient in English and Russian.

Defended doctoral dissertation:

"Study and Improvement of Initial Material for Maize Breeding"

Research Interests:

Plant protection and fertilization; breeding and seed production; teaching activity

Positions Held:

Academic positions at the Maize Research Institute – Knezha and other academic/scientific institutions:

·      Chief Assistant (2006)

·      Associate Professor (2016)

Managerial and other roles at the Maize Research Institute – Knezha:

·      Head of the Scientific-Organizational and Production Activity (2006–2018)

·      Director (2018 – present)

Positions in governing bodies of other structures:

·      Member of the Board of Directors (2015–2018)

·      Chair of the Board (2018 – present)

·      Member of the Scientific Council of the Maize Research Institute – Knezha and the Institute of Viticulture and Enology (2015–2018)

·      Member of the Scientific Council on Cereal, Forage, and Industrial Crops (2018 – present)

·      Member of EUCARPIA (European Association for Research on Plant Breeding) since 2022

Scientific Achievements:

Author and co-author of 14 maize hybrids, 11 of which have been awarded gold medals at innovation contests and international exhibitions.

Supervisor of three PhD students:

·      Kalina Diyanova Tsoneva – Dissertation topic: "Study on the moisture release rates of self-pollinated maize lines for use in breeding programs."

·      Maria Nikolaeva Lakova-Gornishka – Dissertation topic: "Development of source material and implementation of modern genomic approaches in maize breeding."

·      Yuliana Yordanova – Dissertation topic: "Study of local and introduced synthetic maize populations for their use in stress tolerance breeding."

Participation in National and International Projects (Last 5 Years):

·      Studies on heterosis, inheritance of economically significant quantitative traits, and methods for creating, improving, and identifying new stress-tolerant maize genotypes (2019–2021)

·      Breeding, variety maintenance, and seed production of high-yielding maize hybrids from all maturity groups and usage directions (2019–2022)

·      Breeding and seed production of high-yielding and stress-tolerant maize hybrids under climate change conditions – a guarantee for sustainable agriculture (2023–2026)

·      Development of new genetic maize plasma for breeding high-yielding hybrids with improved grain quality, suitable for technological processing (2023–2026)

·      National Scientific Programme “Healthy Foods for a Strong Bioeconomy and Quality of Life” – Ministry of Education and Science (2018–2021). Component: Climate Change, Ecosystem Services, and Food Systems

·      National Scientific Programme “Smart Agriculture” – Ministry of Education and Science (2020–2024). Component: Diagnostics and Forecasting through Artificial Intelligence

Awards and Distinctions:

·      11

Key Publications (Last 5 Years):

·      Author and co-author of over 86 scientific publications in national and international journals.

·      Mima Ilchovska, Penka Vulchinkova, Nataliya Petrovska, Valentina Valkova, 2022. Ecological stability and plasticity assessment of experimental maize hybrids. Book of Abstracts 2022, Maize Research Institute, Zemun Polje

·      Stefan Vulchinkov, Nataliya Petrovska, Zhelyazko Vulchinkov, Valentina Valkova, 2022. Evaluation of the stability of early maize hybrids by parametric and nonparametric methods. Book of Abstracts 2022, Maize Research Institute, Zemun Polje

·      Stefan Vulchinkov, Lyubka Reseleshka, Penka Vulchinkova, Mima Ilchovska, Nataliya Petrovska, Valentina Valkova, 2021. Stability assessment of maize hybrids by different methods in relation to their zoning, Agricultural Sciences: Special Issue 29 – Jubilee Scientific International Conference. 26–28/11/2020, Plovdiv. pp. 65–76

·      Nataliya Petrovska, Valentina Valkova, 2021. Use of recurrent selection in middle late synthetic maize populations. Results of the first cycle in synthetic “1/2017”, Special Issue 30 – Jubilee Scientific International Conference. 26–28/11/2020, Plovdiv. pp. 79–83

·      Mima Ilchovska, Penka Vulchinkova, Nataliya Petrovska, Valentina Valkova, Lyubka Reseleshka, 2021. Ecological Stability of Experimental Maize Hybrids from Group of Ripeness – FAO 400–499, Journal of Mountain Agriculture on the Balkans – Troyan, Vol. 24, Issue 5, pp. 150–161

·      Nataliya Petrovska, Valentina Valkova, 2019. Synthetic population 1/2017 – New Starting Material for Maize Selection. Phenotypic description, Journal of Mountain Agriculture on the Balkans – Troyan: Institute of Upland Stockbreeding and Agriculture, Vol. 22, No. 3, p. 115–122