Dr. Simona Bogdanova Petrova was born in 1984 in Kochani, Republic of Macedonia. She graduated with honors from the Mathematics High School in her hometown. In 2009, she completed her medical degree with distinction at the Medical University “Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" in Varna, Bulgaria, and was awarded the prize for outstanding academic achievement among international students, granting her the right to choose a specialization. In 2010, she was appointed as a resident in the Clinic of Rheumatology in Varna, and in 2012 she was enrolled in a rheumatology specialization program at the same clinic. She obtained her specialty in Rheumatology in 2017. Since 2015, following a successful academic competition, she has worked as an assistant at the Department of Clinical and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dental Medicine. In 2018, she became a full-time assistant professor at the First Department of Internal Medicine – Rheumatology Unit at the Medical University of Varna. Her main clinical and research interests lie in the early diagnosis and conservative treatment of inflammatory joint diseases. She holds a certification in musculoskeletal ultrasound from the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and has participated in numerous national and international courses. Dr. Petrova serves as a reviewer for Rheumatology International and Rheumatology (Bulgaria). She successfully defends a PhD thesis in the field of rheumatic pain in 2023.
Scientific Publications Dr. Petrova has authored over 20 scientific publications and has participated in more than 20 national and international scientific congresses.
She is a member of The Bulgarian Society of Rheumatology, The Bulgarian Medical Society for Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis, The Emerging EULAR Network (EMEUNET), The Bulgarian Medical Association. After graduation, she attended several specialized courses, including: July 2012: Course on Spondyloarthritis, Zagreb, Croatia, June 2012: Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course, June 2024: Capillaroscopy Course, Vienna, Austria.
