In 2026 MU-Varna celebrates 65 years since its establishment and 155 years since the birth of the patron of the University Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov. Numerous events and initiatives dedicated to these anniversaries will be carried out by the academic community throughout the year. The first of these was the public lecture entitled “Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov with a Role in Public Health", organised by the Faculty of Public Health in cooperation with the Bulgarian Society for the History of Medicine and the Museum.
The Rector of MU-Varna Prof. Dr. Dimitar Raykov opened the celebrations by emphasising the importance of Paraskev Stoyanov's work for science and medicine and declared 2026 a year dedicated to his legacy. “Prof. Stoyanov is an example to every one of us! His life is a constant upward striving—toward knowledge, toward meaning, toward service to society," stated Prof. Raykov. He added that the decision of the University to bear the name of Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov is a symbol of continuity and inspiration. The Rector also noted that the dedicated lecture is not only a reminiscence of the past but also an encouragement for young people to dream boldly, to seek the meaning of knowledge in service to people, and to remember that behind every great achievement stands a person with a name, courage, and a mission.
The life, work, and contributions of Prof. Stoyanov to medicine and public health were presented by Prof. Dr. Teodora Dimitrova, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Dimova, Vice, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Dr. Dimitar Stavrev from the Bulgarian Society for the History of Medicine; and a team from the Museum of the History of Medicine at MU–Varna.
Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov is one of the most significant figures in Bulgarian medicine—a founder of the first Bulgarian surgical school and a pioneer of modern surgical education in the country. As a professor at the newly established Faculty of Medicine, he organised the educational process in line with the European standards and authored the first Bulgarian textbooks in surgery, thereby laying the foundations of academic surgical science in Bulgaria, emphasised Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Dimova. She underscored that, in addition to being an outstanding scholar with dozens of scientific works and international recognition, Prof. Stoyanov was also an exceptional practitioner who performed complex operations, including heart surgeries, and contributed to the modernisation of hospital care in Varna by introducing new equipment and organisational practices.
Prof. Stavrev highlighted one of Prof. Stoyanov's greatest contributions to public health—the establishment, on his initiative, of the first in the Balkans children's seaside sanatorium for the treatment of bone and joint tuberculosis, as well as his active role in the development of medical infrastructure. Paraskev Stoyanov also stands out as an encyclopaedic personality and innovator—proposing ideas for using waste as an energy source and participating in major public projects such as the Varna Aquarium.
Beyond medicine, Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov was a pioneer in Bulgarian tourism and mountaineering, becoming the first Bulgarian to climb a peak over 4 000 meters in the Alps. With his multifaceted work, innovative spirit, and immense contribution to science and practice, he remains one of the most prominent and influential figures in the history of Bulgarian healthcare.
In 2002 Medical University–Varna adopted the name of Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov as its patron, thus, paying a tribute to the legacy of one of the most distinguished scholars whose work is closely intertwined with Varna and the development of medical science in Bulgaria.
